Humanity's Greatest Disney Vacation
by Gothic Dancer
Summary: Modern AU spinoff to Humanity's Greatest Bedtime Story, in which Eren wants to go on every ride twice, Carlton has a crush on a Princess, and Levi is just there to hold the sodas.
1. New Story

_Eren let out a soft sigh at the peaceful silence that had overtaken the village. "Carlton must have gotten her to sleep," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Levi's temple._

_Levi smiled slightly, keeping his gaze locked on the sea, specifically on the reflection of the full moon on the water. Despite the waves crashing on the shore, the water itself was quite peaceful that night. The upcoming day's weather would surely be nice. "We'll see how long it lasts," he hummed in response. "She certainly didn't come with that rocking chair-triggered mute button."_

_Eren laughed quietly. "We just got lucky."_

_Levi nodded, relaxing against Eren's shoulder as the comfortable weight of his husband's head rested on his own._

_They were quiet for a few more minutes, eventually letting down their guard at the possibility of their granddaughter waking up again. Really, they didn't care about staying up so much, but they really didn't need Ymir screaming across the village and proceeding to wake even more people up again._

_Eren gently squeezed Levi's shoulder and then spoke again. "I was serious when I asked you what kind of life you'd want to live if we could live again."_

_Levi shrugged. "I don't know, I've never really thought about it. All I really do know is that I'd want to live peacefully. I'd want to be stable."_

_Eren nodded. "I think we can agree on that. But what else? I'd like to be a better dancer, definitely. And I'd like to know more about medicine, but that's more because I'd want my parents to be alive. It would be nice if we could live together as a real family. As much as I love Mikasa, I'd want her parents to be alive, too. Maybe we could be neighbors or something so that we could sorta still live together? I don't know. And…oh! Maybe the full Turkish language could exist? I don't think I'd ever get you out of bed."_

_Levi rolled his eyes. "Very funny."_

_"C'mon, it's hot."_

_Levi snorted. "I'd be more lighthearted, yeah," he added, completely ignoring Eren's statement but simultaneously agreeing with it. "I wouldn't be as cold because there wouldn't be anything immediately threatening my or anyone else's life. I'd be able to relax and maybe have more fun. I would want to grow up in a happy place, definitely not in some hell like the Underground, and I'd want my family to be happy, too."_

_Suddenly, a thought struck Eren. "Wait," he gasped, "if there would be no Titans, then I wouldn't be a Shifter, so you couldn't…" He trailed off as the reality of their imaginary next life hit him. His grip on Levi tightened, and he said, "How would we have Carlton?"_

_Levi didn't seem nearly as concerned. "We'd all find each other again somehow," he said calmly. "Adoption, surrogate, don't worry, he'd be there."_

_Eren shifted slightly, a sad frown creeping its way onto his face. "What about…him?"_

_He didn't need to elaborate. Levi clung to his husband and said, "I don't see any reason why he couldn't live well and be happy, too."_

_Eren kissed his temple again._

_"And…" Levi continued, "…I'd want the age gap between us to be smaller. I'd want us to meet earlier and be able to stay together longer."_

* * *

><p><em>My name is Eren Jaeger. I was born in a lower middle class town in New Jersey on March 30, 1983, the only child of two immigrant parents. We moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City when I was four so my father could find better work.<em>

_My father, Grisha Jaeger, an only child, was born in West Berlin deep in the heart of East Germany in 1955. World War II had ended a decade earlier, and Germany as a whole was struggling, but his family lived well for the times. They had enough money to live in a two-bedroom apartment, and they always had at least two meals a day. Still, my father saw the struggles of many Germans and understood how lucky he was, especially when the Wall went up. He was only six when construction began, but, even as a child, he hated the separation. He believed that all people deserved to live freely and pursue happiness, and he hated how people who weren't German were deciding the fates of the German people. I suppose that he wanted to help people from an early age, so he started studying to become a doctor._

_He met my mother when he was twenty-three. She was twenty-one at the time. Carla Jaeger was born in a small village in eastern Turkey in 1957. She and her parents moved to Istanbul shortly after that, leaving the older relatives behind, but separation was nothing new to her family. The fall of the Ottoman Empire and the multiple wars of the early 20th century had scattered her relatives all over the country, so the branches on her family tree were more like dozens of tiny twigs leading nowhere in particular. My grandparents were poor, but they made the best of what money they had. Istanbul was experiencing great structural change at the time, transforming into a modern city, but my grandparents still sought a better life for their daughter. They moved to West Germany in 1962 as part of the guest workers program that would contribute to the country's economic miracle in the coming decades. There, the life they built for themselves was better than anything they could have ever built back in Turkey, but they were determined to keep their culture alive._

_Which was why neither side of my family was too keen on my mother and father getting married. My father was a German studying to become a doctor, and my mother was a Turkish housemaid for a wealthy German family. My paternal grandparents thought my father could do better, and my maternal grandparents wanted my mother to marry a Turkish man. Regardless, my parents were in love, and they got married in a small, private ceremony in 1980. Their honeymoon was a one-way trip to the United States._

_We didn't have a lot of money when we were living in New Jersey. My father had to continue his studies while working another job, and my mother balanced taking care of me while housekeeping for wealthier families. Really, not much had changed between their lives in West Germany and the US, other than me and the new language. They were adamant about me learning English first, so they spoke it almost exclusively at home. You can imagine my accent, being taught English by a German-speaking man and a Turkish-speaking woman who spoke German with a Turkish accent. Still, English was my first language, though my mother seemed to have inherited the desire to keep her culture and traditions alive. Once I had my foundation in English, she made sure that I spoke Turkish, too. My father wasn't as obsessed with making sure I spoke German, but I ended up picking it up anyway. Being trilingual was hardly anything special though, especially when we finally moved to Manhattan. Our neighborhood in the Lower East Side was full of immigrants, so I grew up with many children who spoke multiple languages from all over the world. We lived next door to the Ackermans, a French man, his Japanese wife, and their daughter Mikasa, who was my age._

_Money was tight when we were living in Manhattan, and we almost had to move again, but then my father finally finished his studies and opened his practice. My mother still had to clean houses during the day, but we finally had a small disposable income, something we had never had._

_I ended up becoming very close with Mikasa. Our parents joked that we were more like siblings than friends, which suited us just fine since we were only children. In the apartment complex across the street from us lived our best friend Armin, who was also our age. The three of us were in the same class at school, so we ended up spending most of our time together._

_When I was thirteen, Mikasa's cousin came to live with her._

* * *

><p><em>My name is Levi Ackerman. I was born in a small village east of Paris, France, on December 25, 1978, the only child of dairy farmers. My mother died shortly after I was born, so my father raised me by himself.<em>

_My father, Kenny Ackerman, the sixth generation farm owner, was born in that same village in 1944, just one year before World War II officially ended. It was a miracle that all the fighting didn't flatten the village, especially since it was so close to Paris. The village was home to multiple dairy farms, most of which made cheese and cream for Parisian markets and restaurants. Our goat cheese farm wasn't big, and we had a lot of competition, but we did enough business that we lived pretty comfortably. If nothing else, we always had at least two meals a day, and my father and I each had our own bed._

_My father was a strict man who didn't really believe in displaying affection. He was awake before the sun came up every day and worked until after it had set every night. He didn't believe in vacations either. Between managing the farm and taking care of me, he had no time for them. Paris was only an hour away, but we only went there a few times, each time for only a few hours, before I turned eighteen. My father rarely spoke about my mother, but she was originally from Paris and moved to the countryside to be with him. Her family had been against it, but she had gone anyway, cutting off all her ties to their money and influence. I'm guessing that, when she died, a lot of my father's desire to return to her home city disappeared with her. My father did have a younger brother, but they could barely stand each other, so the younger moved to the United States when he was in his early twenties. My father never spoke about him either._

_Our world was very small, but it wasn't a particularly bad world. I didn't mind taking care of the goats and turning their milk into cheese, but I often felt like I wasn't supposed to stay on the farm forever. Whenever I had a break, I'd often spend it staring up at the sky and wondering what else was out there. Paris was a big city, several times bigger than our little village, but there was a world beyond even Paris, and I wanted to see it. I asked for English lessons for Christmas/my birthday one year, and, surprisingly enough, my father complied. I spent every spare moment I had on those workbooks, and I absorbed the language like a sponge. Whenever my father gave me a day off, I'd rush to Paris and look for tourists to speak with. I was fluent in no time._

_The summer after I turned eighteen, I told my father that I wanted to go to the United States. Not for a visit, I wanted to live there. I told him this over breakfast one bright Sunday morning, and I was sure that I'd get the scolding of a lifetime for it, but he didn't react negatively at all. He smiled at me as though he had been defeated, swiped some goat cheese onto his roll, and told me that he'd take me to the airport whenever I was ready to go. To this day, I've still never been as shocked as I was on that day. When I asked him if he was really okay with me leaving the farm for good, he told me that he'd always known I wouldn't stay, that the life of a dairy farmer wasn't the life for me. He told me that, ever since the day I was born, I've had wings on my back and that I'd one day use them to fly to where I really belonged. _

_When my father dropped me off at the airport later that same day, he embraced me, told me that he loved me, and gave me all the money he had been saving just for this day. The flight to New York City was a blur, mostly because of my grateful tears._

_My uncle, despite hating my father, welcomed me with open arms and brought me back to his apartment, where my little cousin and her next door neighbor friend were playing._

* * *

><p><em>When Mikasa introduced her cousin to me, I felt an odd stirring in my chest. My cheeks suddenly felt warm, and "beautiful" was the first word that came to my mind in all three of my languages. He was small but imposing, and he exuded a sense of majesty. His eyes were sharp and narrow but not threatening in the slightest. His skin was a smooth ivory, and I could see muscles even through his clothes. His midnight black hair looked so silky, and I found myself wanting to run my fingers through it. Why I was suddenly thinking all this was beyond me, but I had never seen someone so captivating in my life, and I couldn't tear my eyes away.<em>

_Levi lived with Mikasa and her family for about two months before he moved into his own apartment. Since it was summer vacation, I had a lot of free time, and I wanted to spend as much of it with Levi as possible. Or, really, I would have been satisfied with just being near him. Once, Levi took us out to lunch, and I might have rushed a little too quickly to sit next to him in the booth._

_I didn't see Levi much after he moved out until about a month later. He was waiting outside my school, hands in his pockets and absentmindedly kicking a rock from side to side. I could have just stood there staring at him forever, but I wanted more. Mikasa was home sick that day, and Armin had an after school club activity, so I was on my own, and I used that solo time to approach the man who had captivated me. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he turned, smiled at me, and offered his hand. I took it and he walked me home. I fell in love that day._

* * *

><p><em>I didn't remember thirteen-year-olds being as beautiful as Eren was. I tried my best to keep my cool facade, but my heart was pounding a million miles a minute. Suddenly all my French and English flew from my mind, leaving me mute and only able to stare. His chestnut hair looked so soft and touchable, and it lovingly framed his young, sweet face. His skin was a gorgeous bronze, kissed by the sun of the Middle East. And his eyes, oh, his eyes, I had never seen such a bright, vibrant green before. His eyes were huge and sparkled in a way that would make the world's most expensive emerald jealous. He radiated warmth and hope and love, and I wanted all of him.<em>

_And the little brat lived next door to Mikasa. I could see him whenever I wanted. Suddenly, I didn't want to move out. I didn't care if my uncle came to hate me (he still doesn't, thank god). I just wanted to be close to Eren. Would his parents let me live with them? Nah, that would be creepy, if I suddenly started hitting on their son five years my junior. I was technically and adult, too, so I couldn't be with him by law. I started getting a little sneaky to see him more often. Did he and his friends want to go out to lunch? Oh yeah, Eren, you can sit next to me, no problem._

_The apartment I moved into was tiny and crappy, but it was enough for me. I scrubbed it from top to bottom the moment I officially moved in, so at least it didn't make my skin crawl. But I still missed Eren. I still wanted to see him. One afternoon, I skipped out on work and went to pick him up from school instead. I'm not sure why I offered my hand so quickly, but I did, and he took it. We walked home together that afternoon, and I fell in love._

* * *

><p><em>I couldn't wait to grow up. I couldn't wait to be old enough to date Levi and move in with him.<em>

_Middle school finished without too many incidents. I somehow made enemies with Jean, a jerk who totally had a horse face, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Unfortunately, he and I were stuck together in every class in high school, too, made even worse by the fact that Mikasa and Armin were in different classes. I only saw them during lunch and art class. And, of course, Jean had to have a crush on Mikasa, so he used every excuse in the book to get around me and closer to her. It wasn't like it was all bad though. I made other friends. Jean and I spent several after school detentions with Connie, a kid who thought he was going to be the next big thing in late night comedy television. Sometimes Sasha would join us, as she had a tendency to eat during class. I excelled in physical education, which I had with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. The three of them were super close, even if Annie often denied it. She was cold but not necessarily mean, though we all made sure not to get on her bad side. Reiner was twice her height and weight, and she could flip him over her shoulder without breaking a sweat. Reiner and Bertholdt were both big guys whom everybody loved. The former was charismatic and popular while the latter was shy and reserved, but they were both loyal and supportive. All of us were a little confused as to why Historia of the wealthy and famous Reiss family attended our working class school, but she was sweet and kind and really cute, so nobody complained. She spent a lot of time with Ymir, and that was the real mystery. Ymir was a sarcastic, annoying pain in the ass who wasn't really liked by anyone. So of course Historia had to date her, obviously._

_Barely anything changed in high school, except that I turned eighteen during my senior year._

* * *

><p><em>Only a few more years and I could be with Eren.<em>

_I started working at a major publishing company, as I had dreams to make it big. I didn't have a lot of money, and my position was an entry-level desk job that paid just enough for me to make rent, but I knew that it was a stepping stone towards bigger and better things. A few positions above me was a man named Erwin Smith, who took a liking to me right away. We supported each other, and he helped me move up a spot in just year's time. I was a good worker anyway though, probably due to all my time on the farm. My cubicle neighbors were Hanji Zoe and Mike Zakarius. The former was a wild woman who loved her research job way too much and was noisy as all hell, but there was something I could appreciate about her zest for life and her positive work attitude. All of that was tough to find in one package. The latter was a quiet man who worked just as hard. He really only spoke unless he had something important to say, which I could also appreciate. He wasn't stuck up, he just didn't like to waste words or time. The two of them were a dynamic duo of sorts and happily welcomed me to the team, though the two of them were also a few positions above me and had their own smaller teams. I'd have to work for mine, but I knew it would be worth it. I guess that was my American Dream, to have the corner office and the view of the city and the skilled team working for me and the vacation time to travel all over the world. I started believing in what my father had said about the wings on my back._

_A few month after I turned twenty-three, Eren turned eighteen. By then, I had moved up in the company and had moved into a nicer apartment. I was determined to bring him with me._

* * *

><p><em>Levi and I dated for two years before we told my parents. We sat across from them in their apartment over cups of Turkish coffee and baklava, and I told them that I was in love with Levi, that he made me happy and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I hadn't been in a relationship with anyone else ever, not even a little school crush, but I knew that I was meant to be close to Levi. Something was pulling me towards him and telling me that I was meant to stay with him. I clutched his hand as I poured my heart out to my parents, fearing their response. My father was a steadfast man who didn't accept nonsense. My mother was a traditional woman who believed very deeply in family. Surely they'd reject our relationship.<em>

_Only they didn't._

_My mother burst into tears and started going on about how happy she was that I had found someone I loved who loved me in return. My father smirked at Levi and said that I was a handful, between my short temper and loud mouth, but Levi just smiled back and said that he loved me anyway. With that, my father nodded and gave us his blessing. My mother embraced us, still in tears, and shouted in Turkish about how she needed to cook a feast._

_I graduated from college when I was twenty-two, and I moved into Levi's apartment later that same day._

* * *

><p><em>I wrote a letter to my father shortly after Eren and I revealed our relationship to his parents. I was a little worried about his response, but, hell, my father and I were over three thousand miles apart, so there wasn't much he could do if he didn't approve. Luckily, he was fine with it and wished us luck in our lives together. I smiled at his response letter, still in shock that he had let me come to the US in the first place.<em>

_Things only got better from there. Erwin, Hanji, Mike, and I all rose in the ranks at work. I had a real office and my hand-picked team working for me. Everything happened so fast that I was worried my co-workers would hate me or think that I'd slept with someone to get a promotion, but I found nothing but support. People actually thought I deserved it, that I was a great worker who could be trusted with the responsibility to lead. I was touched honestly. Even when Erwin brought me to a meeting with a sort-of-rival/sort-of-partner company, his equivalent, a man named Nile (who seriously needed to learn how to manage a beard), shook my hand and told me that he had heard nothing but great things about me. It was incredible._

_But…I started to feel like something was missing._

* * *

><p><em>In 2007, Levi came to me and told me that he wanted a baby. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement, but I wasn't opposed to the idea. Like I said, my mother was a devout believer in the family, so it was obvious that she wanted grandchildren. And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'd love to have a kid. I wanted to give someone the same good, happy life my parents had given me.<em>

_But we were a same-sex couple who couldn't get married._

* * *

><p><em>"Levi."<em>

_I turned._

_"If you and Eren really want a child, I'll carry it."_

_I embraced my cousin the same way my father had embraced me at the airport that afternoon in Paris, and I could only say "thank you" over and over again in both English and French._

_On January 30, 2008, Carlton Jaeger was born._


	2. Domestic Story

The little boy sitting on the living room couch jumped up when he heard the front door open.

"We're home!"

"Daddy! Papa!" the little boy squealed, rushing forward to embrace his parents.

With a big smile on his face, Eren picked his son up and brought him into a crushing hug. Carlton squealed when he began peppering his face with kisses, kicking his legs back and forth around his daddy's torso.

Levi smiled at the scene, gave Carlton a kiss, and then turned to the other person sitting on the couch. "Hi, Hannes."

"Welcome home!" the older man said as he stood. "Happy Friday!"

"Same to you," Levi replied as he set his briefcase down on a nearby chair. He took off his heavy winter coat and continued, "How was he?"

Hannes grinned. "A little angel, as usual. We listened to some music and drew a few pictures. Kid's got talent." He picked the small pile of pictures up from the coffee table and handed them to Levi. The shorter man's smile widened at the scenes, everything from dragons to flowers to the Jaeger family itself. The refrigerator and the walls of the boy's room had been his own little museum since the time he could hold a pencil.

"And Mr. Hannes got me a hot chocolate from Starbucks on the way home from school!" Carlton added as Eren set him down.

"Did he now?" Levi asked. "Did you say 'thank you'?"

Carlton nodded.

Hannes shrugged, still grinning. "Hey, it's Friday, everybody deserves a treat on Friday. By the way, I know I say this every time I come over, but you guys have the most amazing music collection I've ever seen. Seriously, I've never seen anything like this." He motioned towards the giant, completely full shelving unit that surrounded the living room television and covered the entire wall. "You guys have every genre under the sun and every means of listening to music ever. You got rap, country, heavy metal, pop from every decade, classical, and everything else on cassette, vinyl, CD…I think that people actually log into your apartment whenever they log into iTunes. I mean, look at this." He walked over to one of the shelves and began listing the artists there. "Barenaked Ladies, Bastille, The Beatles, Beethoven, Berryz Koubou, Bette Midler, Beyoncé, Björk, Big Sean, Billy Joel, Black Veil Brides, Blake Shelton, Blue Swede, B.o.B., Bob Marley, Bon Jovi, Bon Iver, Bowling for Soup, Brad Paisley, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, Buckcherry, Bump of Chicken, is there anything you DON'T have?!"

Eren smirked as he hung his and Levi's coats up in the closet. "And that's just the physical stuff."

"Papa is a really good singer, too," Carlton added, joining Hannes at the shelf. "He's better than some of the people we have here. And sometimes Daddy and I dance."

Hannes's eyes widened slightly. "I don't think I've ever heard you sing, Levi."

"You should come to karaoke with us next time we go," Eren said as his husband headed towards the master bedroom to change out of his work suit. "Man, I wish we could get the whole gang together and go like we used to, but it's tough with Connie and Sasha living upstate, especially since they had Aoife. Ah well, we'll find a way to get everyone together eventually. Heh, you should have come with us last time we went, Hannes. It doesn't get much better than Reiner and Bertholdt singing Miley Cyrus's 'Wrecking Ball' and then Annie singing Avicii's 'Wake Me Up!' while drunk only to fall asleep in the crystal punch bowl."

"Only you barely sang," Levi snorted when he reappeared in the living room wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"What are you talking about?" Eren shot back. "I sang 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons!"

"Screaming into the mic doesn't count as singing."

Hannes laughed.

"I got to go once, too!" Carlton added. "I sang 'Can't Hold Us' by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis!"

"Yeah, but you changed the lyric 'like the ceiling can't hold us' to 'like the walls can't hold us'," Levi commented as headed into the nearby kitchen and tied an apron around his waist.

Carlton shrugged. "I thought it sounded cooler."

Levi shrugged back and then turned to his son's babysitter. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Hannes? It's pasta night."

"No thanks, I got an invite to go to a sports bar in Hell's Kitchen with some buddies from my old job," the blond man replied as he pulled his winter coat from the closet. "Maybe next time."

Eren nodded and pulled some money from his wallet. "Thanks again for everything," he said as he passed a few twenties to the older man.

Hannes took them with a grateful smile. "My pleasure, I love this kid." He put the money in his pocket and bent down as Carlton ran over to give him a hug. "See you next week, little man."

"Bye-bye, Mr. Hannes, have fun with your friends tonight," said little man replied, smiling brightly. They waved to each other as Hannes closed the front door behind him.

Levi put the lid on the pot of water on the stove and then shifted to the counter to chop some tomatoes. "Hey, Eren," he said over his shoulder, "how did you meet Hannes again?"

"He was my dad's patient when I was a kid," the taller said as he poured two glasses of wine. "He had an illness and went to, like, three doctors, but no one could figure out what it was. Then he came to my dad, and my dad cured him. He's been a family friend ever since. And that was the case that really helped my dad's practice. He got more patients after that, and he started making more money."

Levi nodded. "It's a shame that you guys met because of an illness, but I'm glad you did meet. He loves Carlton to pieces."

"I like Mr. Hannes, too," Carlton added when Eren gave him the bowls so he could set the table. "He's nice to me and knows a lot of fun games."

Levi took the top off the pot of boiling water, salted it, and added the pasta. He then set the timer and said, "How was your day at school?"

"Good," Carlton replied, sitting in his chair at the set table. "Miss Zita is going to Florida with her mommy and daddy next week, so we're getting a substitute."

"Ah, going on vacation to escape this frigid weather, smart woman," Eren groaned, taking a sip of wine. "And we're supposed to get another blizzard next week, even smarter. Hey, do you think Disney released _Frozen _in November knowing that we'd get this kind of weather? Did they do that on purpose to keep all the kids inside singing that 'Let It Go' song?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't put it past Disney. I think they're powerful enough to control the weather by this point."

Eren laughed and put the two wine glasses on the table. He then went back to the kitchen, poured a glass of water for his son, and set that in front of the little boy. He heard Levi drain the pasta and placed a hot plate on the table, too. A minute later, Levi set the pot on the hot plate and started serving its contents. When all three were settled, they dug in.

"It's good, Papa!" Carlton said through a mouthful of pasta.

Levi took a sip of his wine and smiled. "Thank you, but please don't talk with food in your mouth."

"So how was your day, Levi?" Eren asked from across the table.

Levi shrugged. "The same as always. I had a meeting with my team about the next book in a series. I had lunch with Erwin, Hanji, and Mike. Hanji told me about these science textbooks that her team is working on, but she seemed more interested in their contents rather than publishing them. She had Moblit running like a madman getting her coffee all day. She drinks too much of that crap, I swear. Mike complained about Nanaba's new perfume, and it was the only thing I heard him say all day. Gunther and Eld both left after lunch. Gunther is visiting his parents in New Jersey this weekend, and Eld had to get to Grand Central to catch the next train to Connecticut. He said something about his girlfriend, who knows, he might be proposing."

Eren smiled at that. "I wouldn't be surprised. They've been dating for a while, right?"

Levi nodded and took another sip of his wine. "Auruo, Petra, and I had a short meeting in the afternoon to go over a manuscript. Petra's good, I'm gonna talk to Erwin about giving her a small raise at the start of the next financial year. Auruo…yeah, he's good but not as good as he makes himself sound." He smirked when Eren snorted. "But, I tell you," Levi continued, "this one woman, her name is Ilse, I swear, she should be writing, not publishing. She asked for my opinion on a manuscript she's working on, and I almost published it on the spot. She's that good. If she put the completed manuscript on my desk one morning, I'd have it in both hard copy and paperback in every book store in the US by the end of the day."

Eren's eyes widened. "Holy crap."

"And your day?" Levi asked before bringing a forkful of pasta to his mouth.

"We had quite the interesting visitor come to the gym today," Eren said with a small laugh. "Flegel Reeves."

Levi swallowed the mouthful of food and cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't he next in line to take over Reeves Corporation? What's his name…Dimo's son?"

Eren nodded. "I guess he wants to get in shape."

Levi shrugged. "Good for him."

Eren turned to their son with a smile. "What did you play with Andres and Nadiv at school today?"

"Kingdom!" Carlton replied excitedly. "Andres was the soldier, Nadiv was the king, and I was the hunter."

"Was Hadeon nice to you today?"

"Uh-huh. He was the guard. We pretended that this one dinosaur toy was a dragon so that no one had to be the bad guy."

Eren's smile widened. "That was a good idea."

"How did the 'My Family' speech go?" Levi asked.

"Really good!" Carlton replied, even more excited than before. "I think Miss Zita and everyone else really liked it! Andres and Nadiv even said that my story was really interesting because I have a daddy and a papa. I said…let's see…'My daddy and papa couldn't have their own baby, so the doctors did a special operation so that my Aunt Mikasa could have me. She then gave me to my daddy and papa, and now they take care of me.' Yup, that's what I said! Hee, and Hadeon asked me if Grandma was from turkey, like the bird!"

Eren laughed. "Did you explain that Turkey is a country?"

"Yeah, that it's between Europe and Asia. I said that you speak German and Turkish, Daddy, and that you do Turkish belly dance!"

Eren grinned. Despite living in the US, his mother had wanted to keep as much of her culture alive as possible, and that included making sure her son carried on a few traditions as well. While belly dance was usually a female-dominated field, there were male dancers, and Eren was one of them. "Maybe one day I'll come to your class and perform."

Carlton's face lit up. "Would you, Daddy?! Thank you!"

"What did you say about Papa?"

"That he is from France and came to America when he was eighteen, but his daddy still lives there. He went from working on a farm to working in the big city all by himself!"

Levi smiled somewhat shyly at this. He didn't talk about himself or his family often, but it warmed his heart to hear his son speak about him in such a positive way. He didn't think his previous life as a dairy goat farmer was all that impressive, but his son thought it was cool, so he didn't mind whenever the subject was brought up. "I'll tell Grandpa that you talked about him and his farm in my next letter."

* * *

><p>After dinner, Eren and Levi let Carlton watch TV while they washed the dishes. It was a Friday night, so they let their little boy stay up a little bit later than usual. But by eight o-clock, Carlton started to yawn. At that, Levi announced that it was time to get ready for bed, and he gave his son a bath while Eren cleaned up the living room. About half an hour later, Carlton was tucked into bed with his favorite toy, a plush doll with unruly, dark hair, bright green eyes, and a smile set on a double jaw. Ymir had made it for him upon his arrival home from the hospital, describing it as "a good monster to protect him" and later opened an Etsy store with multiple designs upon realizing that Carlton loved his so much. He had instantly clung to it as an infant and still slept with it every single night.<p>

Levi and Eren took turns leaning over and giving their son a kiss. "Good night, sweetheart, sweet dreams," they each said before turning out the light and closing the bedroom door. They then settled back into the living room to catch up on their DVR recordings before deciding it was time for bed for them, too.

As much as Eren loved seeing his husband naked, there was one thing on Levi's bare skin that he wasn't too fond of. He watched as Levi stripped himself of his t-shirt only to see it: multiple birth marks traveling from his right shoulder down to his hip on both his front and backside. They were a dark pink against his ivory skin, looking more like bruises than anything else. Eren frowned every time he saw it, and this time was no exception. Before Levi could put his pajama top on, Eren wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed his neck. Levi liked the attention of course, but Eren usually didn't come onto him unless prompted. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Eren replied between kisses, "just loving you."

Levi sighed when he felt Eren's lips trail over where he knew the start of his birthmark was. "It doesn't hurt, you know," he said. "It's just a birthmark. I was born with it, seriously, you can ask my dad."

"I know," Eren said. He stopped his kisses and tightened his grip around his husband. "I just don't like the way it looks. It looks like bite marks or something, like some huge thing bit you. I don't know, it makes me uneasy."

"I could say the same thing about you," Levi said, taking Eren's right hand and holding it up. "You have a birthmark, too, and this one looks like you bit your thumb. Whether you did it on purpose or an accident…"

Eren took Levi's hand and kissed it. "I'd never self-harm, if that's what you're thinking."

Levi sighed. "No, I suppose you wouldn't." He broke away from Eren, picked up his pajama top, and turned to face his husband. "And, if you did, I'd beat you much worse."

Eren smiled. "That birthmark on your lower abdomen is pretty interesting, too. It looks like a scar."

Levi momentarily looked down and himself and then shrugged. "Dad said I was born with that one, too. It's kind of in a weird spot but oh well." He finally pulled his pajama top on and then pulled the blankets back on the master bed. Eren followed suit, changing into his own pajamas, and then joined his husband for some pre-sleeping cuddles. Levi was so small compared to him, the former a tiny 5'3" and the latter a giant 6'5", but both secretly loved their size difference. Levi was like a living plush toy when they cuddled, and Eren was a warm, protective shield throughout cold New York City nights. They just fit together so perfectly whenever they did anything together, whether they held hands or hugged or kissed or made love, neither could get enough of the other.

"I was thinking," Eren said quietly, so as not to ruin the comforting peace of the moment, "would you ever take us to visit your dad and his farm in France? I'm sure Carlton would love it."

Levi shrugged. "I think he's still a little young for the flight. It's about seven hours from Newark to Charles de Gaulle with a time zone change of six hours. Besides, I'm pretty sure your mother would want him to visit Turkey first."

"Yeah, you're right," Eren said with a laugh, "but Turkey is an even longer flight with a bigger time change. Nah, we should start him off small first. We did say that we wanted to travel with him once he was old enough, but we should go somewhere in the US first, preferably with a short flight and no time change."

Levi shrugged again. "What about Florida? His teacher is going there next week. It's fast, easy—"

"We should go to Disney World!"

Levi turned over in bed so he was facing his husband with a skeptical look as if Eren had just grown another head. "Come again?"

"I'm serious!" the younger insisted. "It's the perfect place to go! It's a rite of passage for American children anyway, or at least that's what I hear. But, think about it! Like you said, it's fast, it's easy, everything we need is right there! Restaurants, parks, shops, and there's plenty of transportation to get around. And, obviously, it's kid-friendly. It's safe, it's clean, it's the perfect place to go on our first family vacation! Mom and Dad took me there when I was a kid, around the time after Dad's practice really took off. We only had enough money to go to the parks for two days, but, oh man, it was so much fun. I'm sure it's changed a ton since then though. And you've never been either, right?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "I lived on a farm in eastern France for the first eighteen years of my life, Eren, what do you think?"

"That's exactly my point! You need to go, too!"

"Are you saying this because you want to take Carlton or because you really want to go?"

"Both!"

"I should have known."

"C'mon, Levi," Eren nearly whined, "Carlton is six, and he's mature for his age. Plus, his spring break is a different week than usual this year. We can go then and avoid the crowds. It's the week after Armin and Annie's wedding, so we'll still be able to go to that, too."

Levi didn't respond at first, mulling over all this information in his head.

"Levi!"

"Fine, you brat," the older said at last, "we'll plan it this weekend and go in April."


	3. Animal Story

Levi passed his and his family's IDs to the security officer sitting behind the podium in the airport. The slightly plump man held all three of them out and then looked up at the trio standing before him. "Eren Jaeger, Levi Jaeger, and…Carlton Jaeger to Orlando. Yup, you're all good. Move on to the second line please." He handed the IDs back to Levi and then smiled pleasantly at Carlton, who was secure in Eren's arms. "Going to visit Mickey, little buddy?"

Carlton tried to hide his face in Eren's jacket at first, causing the security officer to laugh sympathetically. Eren smiled and said, "Yup, first family vacation. Sorry, he's not good with strangers."

"That's alright, I was shy when I was his age, too. Good thing Mickey isn't a stranger, right? He's everyone's friend. Have a nice flight."

Carlton looked up from his daddy's jacket just in time to wave to the officer before Levi and Eren passed into the scanning area. Once their carry-on bags and shoes had been inspected and cleared, they moved on to the waiting area. The plane arrived on time about an hour later, and Carlton watched with fascination as its passengers appeared and then headed to the baggage claim area.

"All those people just came from Orlando, Florida," Eren explained as he passed his empty Starbucks cup to Levi, who threw it in a nearby trashcan.

Carlton was quiet for a few more seconds, watching the passengers leave the area, and then said, "Airports are really busy."

Eren nodded. "People travel all over the world every single day. They travel for business, vacation, family, all sorts of reasons. If you're flying internationally, the planes are huge, and the areas are even busier."

"You need a special document to fly internationally, too," Levi added. "It's called a passport. With that, you can go outside the US. Sometimes you need another document called a visa, but a passport is essential."

Carlton's face brightened at that. "So, if I had a passport, I could go to Germany or Turkey or visit Grandpa Kenny in France?"

Levi nodded. "You'd need a plane ticket, too, but, yes, you could go to those places with a passport."

The conversation ended when the announcement about boarding the plane rang out. After the disabled, military, and first class passengers boarded, the Jaeger family's section was called. Eren took Carlton's hand and guided him down the passageway after Levi handed their tickets to the woman at the ticket scanner. They found their seats and settled themselves in with Carlton sitting between his parents. Eren buckled him in and took note of his slightly tense face. Even though this was an easy flight when put in perspective and a first flight for so many children, it was still a new thing. Carlton was a pretty secure child, but he wasn't fearless.

"Here, let's go over some safety information," Eren said, taking the pamphlet from the seat pocket in front of Carlton. "Okay, this is what we do if there's an emergency. Can you find where the nearest exit sign is?" He looked up with Carlton, and the little boy pointed at the sign two rows in front of them. "Very good," Eren confirmed. "If we need to leave the plane, we'll use that exit."

"Do things normally go wrong on airplanes?" Carlton asked, nerves obvious in his voice.

Eren smiled and shook his head. "No, thousands of flights leave from all over the world every single day, and they all take off, fly, and land normally. We'll be fine. It's just important that we know what to do if there's an emergency, the same way Miss Zita taught you what to do in a fire at school."

Carlton nodded, having a newfound sense of security. He and Eren went over the rest of the pamphlet, and then Eren pulled the airline's magazine from the seat pocket. He opened up the map of the world page and pointed at New Jersey. "This is where we're starting," he explained, and then his finger moved down to Florida. "This is where we're going. It takes about two hours by plane, where it would normally take about two days to drive down."

Carlton's eyes widened. "Wow. Where are Germany and Turkey and France?"

Eren's finger first moved to France. "This is Paris, right here. Grandpa Kenny lives in a little village east of Paris."

Levi, hearing their conversation, leaned over and nodded. "Yeah, the farm is around here." He pointed to a blank spot on the map just east of Paris. "It's about an hour away by car. It's tiny so it doesn't appear on this map."

Eren then pointed to Germany. "And this is Berlin, right here. This is where Grandpa Grisha was born. Remember what I told you about Germany at that time?"

Carlton nodded. "That it was two countries."

"That's right. It used to be East and West Germany, and East Germany was part of a bigger country called the Soviet Union, which was a country controlled by Russia. Berlin was split into two cities, West and East Berlin. Even though Berlin as a whole was in East Germany, West Berlin was considered part of West Germany. That was where Grandpa Grisha was born, and that was where he met Grandma." Eren's finger then moved south. "This is Istanbul in Turkey. It's a city in two pieces even today, because half of it is in Europe and half of it is in Asia, but it isn't two different cities like Berlin was. This was where Grandma grew up." He then pointed to a blank spot in Turkey's eastern area, close to the Iranian border. "She was born in this area though."

For a few seconds, Carlton was very quiet. His eyes scanned over the world map, taking in all the different countries, cities, and airports that the airline flew to. It was a little overwhelming, and he eventually said, "The world is really big."

Eren smiled. "It sure is. And we hope this is the start of you exploring it."

At that moment the pilot announced that plane would be taking off soon. Eren put the pamphlet and magazine back in the seat pocket just as the flight attendants appeared to explain the safety features of the plane. Once they were done, they sat back down in their own seats, and the plane began to move. Carlton gasped at first, unfamiliar with the sounds and movement, but curiosity replaced fear when the plane actually took off. Levi, who was sitting in the window seat, encouraged him to look out the window, and, when he did, he gasped at the world below them. The houses were so tiny! The roads and cars looked like a play set he had! He was right next to a cloud! He giggled at the tickling feeling in his stomach, which continued until the plane settled itself. The pilot announced that they would likely not experience any turbulence throughout the flight and that the flight attendants would be coming around with snacks and beverages soon. While Eren took the pretzels and water from the woman who stopped at their row, Levi took his iPod out and gave one of the earbuds to Carlton. When both of them were set, Levi shuffled the playlist entitled "Carlton's Mix." But there were no children's songs there, so Levi was more than happy to share the music with him.

It made the plane ride go by quicker. Before Carlton knew it, the pilot announced that the plane was getting ready to land and that everyone had to return to their seats. Eren threw his family's trash in the bag the flight attendant brought by, and Carlton watched as the seatbelt sign above him turned on. "Are we really in Florida?" he asked.

Eren nodded. "A whole other state in another part of the country! It's pretty amazing, right?"

Carlton giggled again when the plane finally landed, the tickling feeling resurfacing in his stomach. Levi was just happy that he hadn't felt sick at any point during the flight, and he ushered his family off the plane. In the Orlando airport, Eren held Carlton's hand while Levi secured their carry-on bag and led them towards the designated Disney shuttle area. Because they were taking the Magical Express, they didn't need to pick up their luggage, so they put on their Magic Bands and waited for their bus.

After a short ride, their bus dropped them off in front of their hotel. Carlton grinned when he saw the entrance and said, "It looks better than it did in the pictures! This is Princess Tiana's hotel, right?"

"It was based on where Princess Tiana is from," Eren corrected as Levi led them inside. "That's a city called New Orleans. Maybe we'll take you there another time."

The doorman opened the front door, adding a cheery, "Welcome to the Port Orleans French Quarter Hotel!," and the family headed inside. After Levi checked them in, they dropped their stuff in their room, which was on the smaller side but still had enough space for all three of them. There were two queen beds, a TV, two sinks in the bathroom, and a separate shower/bath combo. Perfect for the time they'd be there.

"I wanna go to a park!" Carlton squealed, jumping up and down and tugging on Levi's shirt. Levi smirked at him as he unloaded the camera from his carry-on bag.

"It's a little late, don't you think?" he asked. "Remember, we were on that plane for two hours, and we only have tickets for four days. You don't want to waste a ticket on just the late afternoon, right?" A slight grin broke through his smirk when Carlton frowned. "Don't worry, we're going to Downtown Disney first. You don't need a ticket to go there, and we have dinner reservations there. Let's go."

That brought the excitement back into Carlton's face, and he practically skipped out of the room when Eren opened the door. Levi stole a kiss from his husband just as the latter closed it, and they both smiled as they made their way down to the dock. The boat there went directly to Downtown Disney, and they still had some time, so they figured that it was a good way to ease into their time in the parks. When they boarded the boat, Carlton acted like it was a ride in itself. Levi had to remind him to sit still. If the boat ride to a smaller park was enough to excite his son this much, he couldn't wait to see his reaction to the biggest of the four parks the next day.

* * *

><p>"Oh my…Daddy! Papa! Look at that tree!"<p>

Eren picked Carlton up so that he could get a clearer view of the Tree of Life situated in the middle of Discovery Island. The little boy stared at it with wide, excited eyes. There were skyscrapers in New York City that weren't that big! And there were so many animals carved into it! Levi and Eren had to admit, it was a pretty incredible sight, at least a great one to be greeted with while waiting for the rope to drop that morning. The crowd was small, and Levi was very satisfied that he had gotten his family up early. Get enough coffee in Eren (strong Turkish coffee worked best) and he could be up at any hour. Hell, Carlton was more agreeable than Eren was in the morning, but any crankiness that might have arisen that morning instantly disappeared upon arriving at the Animal Kingdom gates.

A few minutes later, the cast members appeared and welcomed the guests into the park. A large group of people ran for the big rides, but the Jaegers took things a bit slower, wanting to take in as much as they could throughout their vacation without tiring themselves out. "Our FastPass thing isn't until later in the morning, so we have some time to kill," Levi explained as he opened the map and Eren set Carlton down. "If we keep walking forward, we'll arrive at Discovery Island. We can take the walking trail and see if there are any animals out."

Carlton was busy taking in all the park's details. There were so many colors and patterns and textures he had never seen before! The trees were huge, and even the ground had decorations built into it! Not all of the shops had opened yet, but they still had their colorful banners out, and artwork was on display everywhere. "Daddy, is this what Africa looks like?" he asked innocently.

Eren smiled. "I'm sure that Africa looks like this in some parts. Africa is just like any other continent though. It has big cities, small farms, suburban communities, and little villages. But, yes, all of the decorations in this part of the park were inspired by the art and culture of the different people in Africa. Isn't that cool?"

Carlton nodded and looked up to see that they were getting closer to the Tree of Life. Levi put the map away and pointed to the upcoming animal exhibits. There were hardly any other people there, and it was still early in the morning, so the animals were eating when they arrived. Carlton watched, fascinated, as the Giant Galapagos Tortoise slowly ate its food, remarking, "He's kinda like you in the morning before you've had your coffee, Daddy," to which Levi responded with a loud, snorting laugh.

They leisurely walked along the paths for the next hour or so, taking in the scenery and watching the animals. Not all of the animals were out, but the area was so quiet that no one really minded, as they had the pleasure of watching the animals that were out all to themselves. At one point, Eren looked at his watch and said, "Oh, our reservation time is coming up. Should we go?"

So they headed over to the Asia section of the park. Sure enough, there was a long line outside the Expedition Everest roller coaster, but that didn't bother Eren. He grinned at his husband, flashed his Magic Band, and said, "I'll see you in a few minutes."

Levi nodded back. "We'll meet you at the end." He then took Carlton's hand and led him to an area with a clear view of the coaster's mountain. "We'll wave to Daddy when his cart goes up."

Carlton looked at him curiously. "You don't want to ride it, Papa?"

"You're still too little to ride this," Levi explained. "I'll stay here with you. This isn't my kind of ride anyway."

Carlton shrugged and watched as a cart slowly made its way up the mountain. He saw several people waving down at him and quickly realized that one of them was Eren. He waved back just before his daddy disappeared inside the mountain. A few seconds later, joyful yet terrified screams rang out throughout the park, making the little boy jump. He watched as another cart started climbing the mountain a few minutes later, and, sure enough, Eren reappeared at their side shortly afterwards.

"Man, that was fun!" the man laughed, his breathing slightly heavy from all that screaming. "I can't wait until you're big enough to ride it with me, sweetheart. It goes backwards in the dark!"

Levi smiled. "Should we do something fun for all three of us now?" he suggested, pointing in the direction of the Kali River Rapids, a ride Carlton was tall enough for. He took his son's hand, and the three of them headed over there. They didn't have FastPasses for this ride, but they didn't mind waiting since the line wasn't too long. Eventually, a cast member ushered them into a raft with several other people, and they buckled themselves in before the raft started to move.

"Eep, it's wet!" Carlton announced, giggling. "We're gonna get wet!"

And they did. Towards the end, the raft went down a large waterfall, and water splashed all over the riders. It seemed like a whole bucket dumped onto Levi, who was sopping wet when they got off. He couldn't help but laugh at his drenched state, especially since Eren and Carlton managed only to get a little wet. Levi immediately headed towards a restroom and reappeared a few minutes later in a dry t-shirt and jeans. "Always be prepared," he said, holding up the backpack containing his soaked clothes in a plastic bag. "Anyway, should we get something to eat? I'd like to eat lunch before the crowds show up."

So they headed to a nearby counter service restaurant called the Yak and Yeti. People were just starting to gather around it for lunch, so there was only a short wait to for their food. Eren gathered up the trays in his arms and set them down on a table with enough room for the three of them. "Mmm, I love beating the crowds," Levi said as he bit into a piece of sweet and sour chicken.

Eren nodded in agreement. "It was a good idea not to go to the Magic Kingdom today. It's Monday so there are probably a lot of people there."

"Hmm?" Carlton looked up at his parents and said, "Why?" between mouthfuls of beef lo mien.

"Most people go to the Magic Kingdom on Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday," Levi explained. "People who start their vacation at the beginning of the week like we did either want to go there first on Monday or save it for last on Friday. It's the most popular park because a lot of people think it's THE Disney park. Florida locals who come here on the weekends usually go there, too, so it's most crowded on those days. We're not going there until Wednesday so that it won't be so crowded. Trust me, I did plenty of research before we left."

After lunch, the trio headed over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to walk off their meal. Eren took one of the animal identification cards and led Levi and Carlton throughout the tour. Carlton squealed when he saw the tigers up close. One of them even looked straight at him! "It's like Rajah in _Aladdin_!" he giggled as they moved on. He was equally enthralled with the fruit bats hanging from the banners outside an observation room, and Eren and Levi had to agree that they were quite fascinating.

When they were done with that tour, they headed to the Africa section of the park and used their FastPass slot for the Kilimanjaro Safari. Being in the truck was also a great break from walking so much, especially on little Carlton's legs. The safari guide pointed out the animals on the savannah and stopped every so often so the guests could take pictures. Carlton stared in wonder at everything. He had only seen giraffes, ostriches, lions, elephants, and rhinos in books before, so seeing them in real life up close was amazing. One of the giraffes actually came so close to the truck that Carlton was sure he could touch it if he reached for it, but he stayed put knowing that it was a wild animal. He started giggling again at the warthogs, says that they were friend of Pumbaa's from _The Lion King_.

When the safari was over, Eren suggested that they go to Rafiki's Planet Watch since Carlton had brought up _The Lion King. _Levi agreed, not having anything else he really wanted to do, and they took the train to the separate area. Carlton especially liked the seats facing outwards so that he could see all the facilities where the cast members took care of the animals. He grinned when the train stopped and hopped off with his parents, claiming that he wanted to see where Rafiki spent his free time.

And he was in luck! Rafiki was out and taking pictures with guests! "Can I go meet him please?" the little boy nearly begged, and Eren responded with a nod and a smile. Carlton squealed and ran on line while Levi set up his camera. After a few minutes, the cast member said it was Carlton's turn, and, shyness forgotten, the little boy ran up and gave the character a hug. Eren visibly melted while Levi trembled with an internal cuteness attack. He almost forgot to take the photo.

After meeting Rafiki and checking out the animal clinic inside the building, the Jaegers headed outside towards the petting zoo. Lots of baby goats were walking around that day, so Eren bought a small handful of food for them and put it in his son's hands. Carlton held the pellets out for a goat that was walking towards him, giggling nervously. After a moment, the goat started to eat, and Carlton burst out laughing. "It tickles! It tickles more than Grandpa Grisha's beard when he gives me kisses!" When the food was gone, the goat walked away, and Levi immediately took Carlton to the washing station to clean up.

Eventually, it was the mid-afternoon, and the crowds were at their peak. The Jaegers took the train back to the main area of the park and decided to head back to their hotel to rest. Little Carlton seemed like he needed a short nap anyway. However, along the way, as they passed through Discovery Island again, Eren spotted someone. "Look, sweetheart! Pocahontas is out!"

Carlton immediately perked up and smiled, pulling Eren's hand in the woman's direction. Levi, knowing he couldn't argue, followed behind with his camera ready. The wait for Pocahontas took a little bit longer than the wait for Rafiki did since there were more children in the park, but it was worth it to see Carlton's face light up when the woman bent down to his level and greeted him with a warm smile. "What's your name, little visitor?" she asked.

"Carlton."

"I'm so glad you came to see me today, Carlton!"

They talked for a few more seconds until Levi took a photo. The nearby cast member then called for the next guest, and the Jaegers finally made their way out of the park. Carlton fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel, but that bothered no one. He'd need all the energy he could get in the coming few days.


	4. Hollywood Story

Carlton yawned and rubbed his eyes with one hand and held his papa's hand with the other. Levi glanced down at his son and narrowed his eyes a bit. While Carlton had taken a nap after their adventures in Animal Kingdom the previous day and had gone to bed at a reasonable hour that night, he seemed to still be a little sleepy. Despite the fact that the Jaegers lived in New York City, which was always busy and noisy, Carlton's life had always been routine. This was the first time the family had done something completely different than what they were used to, and Levi wondered if it was already taking a toll on his son. Between the two airports, the plane ride, the different room and bed, and the full day of park touring, Levi could understand how this trip could be overwhelming for a six-year-old. He gripped his son's hand and was about to ask Carlton how he was feeling when Eren excitedly picked the boy up.

"Look, sweetheart! They're opening up the park!"

The cast members appeared at the front entrance to put on their opening show, cheerily dancing and singing to old fashioned music about the magic of Hollywood. One of the cast members rode in with an old fashioned film camera, which made Carlton's eyes widen in wonder. Once the greeting was over, the cast members parted and opened up the park for their guests, waving as the crowds headed towards the giant Sorcerer Mickey Hat.

While most of the guests headed for the big attractions, Levi led his family in the direction of a sign that said "Animation Courtyard." "We have fastpasses for all the big rides at certain times," he said, pointing to the band on his wrist. "We should take some time to enjoy the exhibits in this section before the park gets too crowded."

"Oh, is this the thing that talks about Walt Disney's life and how he got his start?" Eren asked, smiling wide when Levi nodded. "Sounds great! What do you think, sweetheart? Wanna go in?"

Carlton nodded and Eren set him down so the three of them could walk together into the attraction. Levi sighed with relief as soon as they were inside. Starting the day out slowly was the way to go, he figured. If Carlton really was tired, then the boy would likely make it very known if he was pushed too hard. Every parental instinct in Levi's body told him to prepare himself in case of a meltdown, and he could only hope and pray that Eren wouldn't get too caught up in his own fun not to notice any signs.

And Carlton loved the exhibits. He gasped excitedly every time a nearby audio interview started, and he smiled at all the artwork on the walls. He even spotted a small Kingdom Hearts display towards the end. "You like that game, right, Daddy?"

"He does but he's only allowed to play when I can keep an eye on him," Levi said before his husband could reply. "We don't want another Mario Kart-style temper tantrum."

"Eh?"

"That was before you were born, sweetheart, and I'd rather not recall it." He glanced at Eren, who looked away guiltily.

A minute later, the doors to the theatre opened, and the family walked in. By the time the film started, a few other guests had arrived, but the theatre itself was still rather empty. Levi watched with a little smile as joy bloomed across Carlton's face at the sight of Walt Disney himself on the big screen. The little boy clutched at his shirt and giggled quietly, watching the man grow into the legendary filmmaker. At one point, Levi leaned over and whispered, "See how Walt Disney worked really hard and made his dream come true? You can do that, too, just like him and Princess Tiana." He then smacked a kiss against Carlton's temple, and the boy giggled again.

When the film was over, Carlton all but skipped out of the theatre, and Eren chased him all the way back to the main area of Animation Courtyard. Levi looked up at another attraction, and his eyes widened. "Hey, Carlton," he said just as Eren scooped the boy up, "you like to draw. You wanna learn how to draw a Disney character?"

Carlton's eyes popped. "I can?!"

Levi nodded. "C'mere, you can take a lesson with a Disney artist." He led his husband and son into the attraction, and, after a few minutes, a few other people had entered the film room, and an animator walked out on stage. When the show began, Carlton squealed at the sight of Mushu on the television screen.

After the short show ended, the animator brought everyone into the classroom, at the Jaegers sat together in the middle to get the best view. The animator welcomed everyone and then said, "Today we're going to learn to draw Mickey Mouse himself!" Carlton clapped his hands a few times, utterly thrilled at the thought of drawing the character, and the lesson began. That was when both Eren and Levi remembered that neither of them had any drawing talent whatsoever. Where their son got it from was a perplexing mystery.

Regardless, Carlton was happy with his finished product, and that made Eren and Levi happy. Levi folded up their drawings, put them in the backpack, and then led his family to the next exhibit. When they entered the interactive museum, Carlton gasped, eyes wide. Eren and Levi followed his gaze and smiled themselves.

"Welcome!" the cast member accommodating Sorcerer Mickey said cheerfully. "You guys are Mickey's first visitors today!"

Eren almost ran faster than Carlton did.

With a sigh and a laugh, Levi snapped several pictures of his husband and son. He'd never say it, but he wanted to preserve the smiles on their faces forever. Those smiles could end wars and cure cancer.

"Would you like to join them, too?" the cast member asked.

"Oh, no, I'm just the pho—"

"C'mon, Papa!"

Between the smile on Carlton's face and the twinkle in his big, bright green eyes, Levi couldn't resist. He passed the camera to the cast member and joined his family, giving Mickey a handshake with a smile. Eren and Carlton cracked up when Mickey caught Levi off guard and pulled him into a big hug.

Levi was still slightly shell-shocked when they left the attraction and headed down to Pixar Place. He didn't snap back to his usual self until Eren said, "We have fastpasses for the Toy Story ride here, right?" He pointed to the huge line winding and twisting out of Toy Story Midway Mania!. The park hadn't been open for too long, but it seemed like everyone at the park was waiting for that ride.

Luckily, Levi nodded. "And they're good now. We can get on."

That made Eren's smile come back, and he excitedly led his family inside. They still had to wait a while, because even the fastpass line was long, but the queue area was so cool with all the toy decorations, so they didn't really mind. That left them more time to enjoy the details. Eventually, they arrived at the boarding area, Eren and Carlton on one side of the cart and Levi on the other with a single rider. Levi didn't need to see his husband and son to know they were having a good time. The cart jerked around corners and in circles, and the two of them squealed so loud Levi could hear them above the music and sound effects. Carlton and Eren were still laughing when they left, and some hope surfaced in Levi's chest. Maybe there would be no meltdown today.

They skipped the Studio Backlot Tour, opting instead for the Muppet Vision show. "I don't wanna take a tour, that's boring," Eren said childishly. "Besides, the Muppet show is shorter, so we can fit more stuff in later. I'm not leaving without ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror!"

Carlton didn't argue since he was still giggling over the 3D aspect of the Toy Story ride. Levi passed him a pair of 3D glasses for the Muppet show, and he kicked his little legs back and forth in his theatre seat, excited to see more of the effects. When Kermit and his friends appeared on screen, he laughed and reached out for all the characters and props coming at him. Eren smiled fondly at the memories of watching cartoon versions of the characters on TV as a kid. Levi had never really seen the characters before, but he still got a kick out of their humor.

By the time they got out of the show, it was lunchtime, and they had to hurry to get to their reservation on time. "We'll come back to the rides after lunch," Levi said, though he wasn't sure if he was reassuring his son or his husband. "C'mon, this will be nice. I got reservations at a place with comfort food." He opened the restaurant doors, and a hostess showed them to their table

Eren's eyes widened once he sat down. "Wait, this is the 50s-themed restaurant…"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are you sure this is a good idea? This place…"

"Welcome to the '50s Prime Time Cafe!" the waitress greeted with a big, teasing smile. "Now, lemme just say, I'm gonna keep a sharp eye on all three of you. We don't put our elbows on the table, and we clear our plates or else no dessert!" She smirked at Carlton. "I'm gonna have to keep an extra sharp on you, right? Don't be naughty now~!"

The change in Carlton's demeanor was immediate. All of his joy disappeared, and he shrank back into his seat, clutching Levi's shirt sleeve and managing to mumble out, "I'm not naughty…"

"Hmph! We'll just see once you get all those vegetables on your plate!"

"I like vegetables…"

"A likely story!" the waitress laughed, pouring water for the table and passing out the menus. "I'll be right back to take your order." And she skipped off to another table.

Eren glanced at Levi worriedly. "You're supposed to play along with your waitress at this restaurant," he said. "Do you think he'll be okay…?"

Levi mentally slapped himself. How had he missed that part? Especially with all the research he had done in preparation for this trip. He looked down at Carlton, who still looked a little nervous, and sighed. "I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't know you were supposed to interact with the waitresses here. Are you gonna be okay?"

Carlton could tell that his papa was genuinely sorry. Levi only called him "baby" when the only thing on his mind was his son's happiness and safety. With a sigh, Carlton nodded. "It's okay."

Levi kissed his son's temple. "The food here is supposed to be really good, so maybe that will make it okay. And we won't stay for dessert if you're uncomfortable." He kissed his son again, and Carlton nodded, feeling somewhat relieved at that promise. Levi held up the menu for him, and Eren went through it to take Carlton's mind off his slight anxiety.

"Alrighty then, what can I get you three?" the waitress said upon returning to their table, holding out her notepad with a big grin.

"Um, the fried chicken please," Eren said, passing her the menu, "and a Coke."

"The poached salmon and a ginger ale," Levi said, passing his own menu along.

"…Me, too," Carlton said quietly. "Salmon please."

"Nope!" the waitress said cheerily. "Kiddies gotta order from the kiddie menu!"

Carlton jumped at the rejection and shook his head. "But I want salmon…"

"Surely you'd like some chicken nuggets instead?"

"No, I don't like chicken nuggets…"

Oh crap, oh crap, Levi knew that voice. That was Carlton's "I'm starting to freak out" voice. His parental instincts kicked in, and he quickly looked through the children's menu. "Hey, sweetheart, look, there's a fish choice on the children's menu. How about that? And I'll let you have some of my salmon, okay? We can share."

After a pause, Carlton nodded, and Levi sighed with relief. He passed the menus to the waitress, who left, still smiling. Once she was gone, Levi put his arm around Carlton, who immediately snuggled up to his papa. "Why did she say I couldn't have the salmon?" he asked, eyes starting to water. "It wasn't like I asked for dessert first."

"She was just teasing you," Eren said, running a hand through his son's hair. "She wasn't trying to be mean. Not a lot of kids like grown-up food the way you do, sweetheart. Most kids prefer chicken nuggets over poached salmon."

Carlton sniffed and buried his face in his papa's shirt. "Well, I don't."

Levi felt a brick of guilt drop into his stomach, and he suddenly didn't feel like eating all that much. The day had been going so well. Despite Carlton being tired, he had been so excited and happy. He had loved every second of the films, shows, and rides they had seen and been on. He had smiled so wide his face hurt, and he had laughed so hard he squealed. Now he was anxious and feeling trapped, and Levi prayed that the waitress wouldn't come back to their table to often.

Carlton eventually calmed down enough to watch some of the old black and white shows playing on the nearby TVs. He smiled at the slapstick humor and pointed out all the nice suits the men wore and the pretty dresses the women wore. Eren and Levi didn't mind that their table had gone quiet, as long as their son was happy.

Luckily, the waitress had several other tables to tend, so she quickly dropped off their meals and said, "Enjoy!" before heading off to greet her other guests. Carlton ate his meal without complaint, as the fish was actually pretty good. True to his word, Levi split his salmon with him, taking a little bit of Carlton's fish in return. At one point, Eren passed his son a piece of friend chicken, which was so much better than some cheap chicken nugget in the boy's mind.

When the meal came to an end, the waitress came back and, with quite a bit of shock in her voice, said, "The little one actually ate all his vegetables! Hmm, you sure you ain't an alien, little guy?"

Carlton shook his head, turning back to his papa for support. "No, I like vegetables. I said that earlier…"

"Then you gotta have dessert!"

"No, thank you…"

The waitress paused. "Wait, what? You're a kid and you don't want dessert? You SURE you ain't an alien?"

"I'm not!" Carlton said loudly, voice starting to tremble. "I don't want any!"

"Just the check, please," Levi nearly begged, looking at the waitress desperately. The waitress shrugged in response and set the check down. Levi quickly passed her his credit card, and she returned in a few minutes with it. By that point, Eren had scooped the little boy up in his big arms and was rubbing his back. Levi signed the bill in record time and handed it back to the waitress before getting up, Eren quickly following behind. They barely acknowledged when the waitress said goodbye.

Once outside, Eren immediately made a B-line for the Star Wars ride, Levi following right behind. Anything to get Carlton's mind off the terrible restaurant experience. "It's alright, sweetheart, it's alright, we've left. You won't see that waitress again," he said, squeezing his son in his arms. "We're sorry, we got a bad waitress. I heard that most of the waitresses their are friendly, so we just got unlucky."

Carlton took a deep breath and nodded. "It's okay."

Levi knew that voice. Carlton was not okay.

Still, the boy pressed onwards. The family rode Star Tours, which was actually quite fun. Eren loved the Star Wars films, and Carlton liked the ride's movements, so he managed to come out of the attraction with a smile. Seeing that Carlton was in a better mood, Eren led him to the Indiana Jones show. Levi was up for that as well, thinking that a show where Carlton could just sit and watch would be best. However, even though fire was blazing and guns were firing throughout the show, Carlton still yawned, and it didn't go unnoticed by Levi. Eren was too caught up in the special effects to notice.

By the time the show was over, the park was starting to get crowded. "Oh crap, the lines for the big rides are gonna be huge!" Eren groaned, grasping his son's hand. "We have fastpasses for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror, right? Crap, I wanna get there before those lines are even too long!" Unfortunately, those rides were on the other side of the park, so Eren picked up the pace. He didn't notice Carlton yawn again, and, by the time they had arrived in Sunset Boulevard, the little boy was panting.

"Daddy!" he called. "Wait, Daddy, wa—!"

_Crash!_

Carlton tripped and fell into the street.

Time seemed to stand still as Eren and Levi froze, waiting with baited breath as they watched their son slowly try to lift his head. Then the whimpers started, and what Levi had been dreading all day reared its ugly head. Meltdown in three…two…one…

Carlton started to cry.

Eren quickly picked the boy up and looked him over, his eyes widening when he spotted the bleeding scratches on his son's elbow. "Oh crap," he whispered, settling the boy on a nearby bench. "Levi, do you have the first aid kit?" he asked right when Levi pulled it out of his backpack and nearly shoved it in his husband's face. Eren opened it as Levi sat down and pulled Carlton into his lap, kissing his temple and hugging him around his waist. Levi held onto Carlton's hand as Eren took a disinfecting cloth out of the box and started to wash his son's scrape. Carlton only cried harder. "Oh, I know it stings," Eren said, his heart breaking, "but this will help it heal faster." He threw the wipe in a nearby trash can and then pulled a bandaid out, opening the packaging up and sticking it on the scrape. "And, to make it heal even faster," he said, and then he planted a big kiss right on top of the bandaid.

Levi let out a sigh of relief as Eren closed the first aid kit and placed it in the backpack. "Good thing Grandpa Grisha is a doctor, huh?" he asked as lightheartedly as he could. "Daddy learned all sorts of helpful things from him." He kissed Carlton's temple again, and the boy's cries quieted. Still, Levi knew better than to get right back up. "I think he needs a break," he said to Eren. "Why don't you get on line for your rides, and then we'll meet up back here? Text us when you're done."

With a gentle smile, Eren nodded. "I think that's a great idea." he agreed, kissing Carlton's forehead. "I'm sorry for pulling you so hard, sweetheart, I promise I won't do it again. Sit with Papa for a little while, okay? If you're feeling better by the time I get back, we'll do something you want to do." He pat Carlton's shoulder twice and then headed off.

Once Eren was gone, Carlton let out a whimper. "I'm sorry, Papa."

"Hmm? Why are you sorry?" Levi asked back, hugging his son so he was comfortably leaning against his papa's chest. "You didn't do anything wrong. I should have done more research about the restaurant. I'd never bring you to a place that could make you uncomfortable on purpose. I know that you don't like talking to strangers, and that waitress was too pushy. And then Daddy was the one who ran to fast for you. We were at fault today, not you."

Carlton let out a shaky sigh. "But I…um, this vacation is supposed to be fun, and I…"

"It is completely normal to need a break even from fun things," Levi explained. "You live a very calm life. Even though we live in New York City, we do the same things every day, and our apartment is very quiet. This is sensory overload! It's a lot, especially for an introverted little boy like you. Honestly, I'm impressed that you lasted as long as you did. So don't feel like you did something bad, okay? Besides, I don't like those big rides that Daddy likes. I'd much rather sit here with you. In fact, hey, do you want a treat?" He pointed to a nearby cart. "Look, they're selling ice cream pops shaped like Mickey! Would you like one of those?"

Carlton nodded and managed a tiny smile, which, in turn, made Levi smile. They got up from the bench, ordered a water bottle and an ice cream pop, and sat back down to enjoy. Carlton slowly ate through his treat, savoring the delicious dark chocolate shell and vanilla ice cream inside. Levi took a long drink from the water bottle and chuckled softly when he saw the mess on his son's cheeks. He pulled a tissue from the backpack and cleaned the boy's face once Carlton was done eating. That got a little giggle out of Carlton, and the sound made Levi's heart sing.

Once the two were all rested, Levi stood back up and said, "How about we go shopping? We haven't bought any souvenirs yet." Carlton nodded and took his hand, and the two walked into the nearby shops, looking at all the fun merchandise for sale. T-shirts, Mickey ear hats, and toys lined the walls, and Levi spotted something quite interesting. "Carlton, sweetheart," he said, reaching up and pulling a Sorcerer Mickey plush toy from a display, "look at this. Remember how you were the first person to greet Sorcerer Mickey this morning?" He smiled when Carlton nodded. "Would you like this then? So you can hug him even at home?"

Carlton's face lit up. "I can have this?"

Levi nodded. "That way your monster plush can have a friend while you're away at school."

The thought of his monster plush having a friend made Carlton truly smile for the first time since lunch. He nodded and gave Levi a big hug. "Thank you, Papa! Thank you, thank you!"

Levi paid for the toy, and they left the store, heading back for the bench where they were supposed to meet Eren. He hadn't texted them yet, but they were content to sit and wait. Carlton pulled his new toy out of the bag and gave it a hug. Levi felt warmth rise in his chest at seeing his baby boy so happy. He never wanted to see those tears again.

"Excuse me."

Levi and Carlton looked up to see a cast member with a huge cloud of balloons above him. He was an older man with gentle eyes and a sweet smile. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said, "but I saw this little one crying earlier. I didn't want to interfere because it looked like you and—that was your husband, right?—had it under control, but I just couldn't stand to see this little one so unhappy." He turned to Carlton and bent down to his level. "We have a 'No Sad Children' rule here, so I thought you might like a balloon. What do you say?"

Carlton's eyes widened and he looked at Levi. "Can I, Papa?"

Levi nodded. "That's very nice of you," he said to the old man.

"Here you go then," the cast member replied, pulling a balloon from his bundle. "Here, let me tie it around your wrist so you don't lose it. Is that okay?" He waited for Carlton to nod and then tied the string tight enough so that it wouldn't slip off Carlton's small wrist.

Carlton looked at his wrist and then looked up at the cast member. "Thank you," he said shyly, though he still smiled.

"You're welcome. Have a magical day." And the old man walked off.

"Wow, look at that," Levi said, pointing up at the balloon. "There's a Mickey balloon inside a normal balloon. And the Mickey balloon is the same green color as your and Daddy's eyes! That was really nice of that man. See? Not all the cast members are like that waitress."

Carlton nodded, smiling momentarily before he yawned again.

That was when Eren appeared, grinning wide, his hair a wind-blown mess. "Aw man, that was fun! How are you guys doing?"

"Well," Levi replied, "we had a snack, did a little shopping, and a cast member gave Carlton this free balloon, so I'd say things are pretty good here." He smiled and stood up. "But now I think Carlton needs a nap. It's been a long day, and we could all use a rest if we're going to come back here for Fantasmic! tonight."

Eren couldn't argue with that. He wouldn't admit it, but he was feeling a bit tired as well. All that screaming on the big rides had taken a lot out of him. He and Levi each took one of Carlton's hands, and the family walked out of the park together. They took the bus back to their hotel, and all three napped until dinnertime. They then headed back to the Hollywood Studios park, ate small counter service meals, and got on line for the show.

Carlton couldn't stop smiling throughout the entire show, his eyes big and bright with wonder and awe at the fire and water effects, the giant puppets, and the steamboat cruise at the end. He hugged his Sorcerer Mickey toy and waved at the real Mickey at the end, applauding when the lights went out. He was asleep in Eren's arms by the time they left the arena.


	5. Magic Story

Eren smiled nostalgically as the performers and characters arrived on the Magic Kingdom Railroad Train and began their morning performance. He bounced Carlton in one arm and put the other around Levi's shoulder as he thought back to the first time he stood before the entranceway to the Magic Kingdom. He had been so excited, jumping up and down as he waited for the park's official opening, his father lightly placing his hands on his little shoulders in an attempt to calm him and his mother lovingly clutching his father's arm. Now he was standing with his own family, and he wondered if perhaps Carlton would one day stand in the same spot with his own family.

"Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!" the performers greeted alongside the characters, inviting the guests inside.

"Put me down, Daddy, I wanna walk!" Carlton said, kicking his feet back and forth. When he was on the ground, he took Eren's hand, and the family headed inside.

"We're gonna go to Tomorrowland first," Levi said, looking at the map. "Eren, you wanted to go on Space Mountain, right? We should do that early since we don't have a Fastpass for it. And then, let's see, we wanted to do Buzz Lightyear and the Monsters, Inc. ride, too, right?"

"I wanna do Buzz first!" Carlton announced. "Please!"

"It's still really early, so the park isn't too crowded yet. Space Mountain shouldn't be too long of a wait once we're done," Eren said. "Let's go. This was the basis for the other _Toy Story _ride in Hollywood Studios, right?"

Levi nodded. "There are no 3-D effects on this one."

"That's okay, let's go."

Carlton squealed throughout the entire ride, excitedly shooting his toy gun controller as much as he could. He barely hit any targets, but he was having so much fun that he barely cared. He sat next to Levi, who seemed to hit every target with laser precision. Eren, sitting in his own cart, just spun around a lot.

When the ride came to an end, Carlton's eyes popped at Levi's score. "Oh my gosh, Papa, you hit a lot of targets."

When they exited their cart, Levi took Carlton's hand an said, "I don't screw around when it comes to fighting Emperor Zurg."

They then separated so Eren could get on line for Space Mountain. Levi and Carlton instead opted for the Carousel of Progress show. Carlton couldn't get over how the entire theatre moved during each sequence.

When they exited the attraction, they met up with Eren, whose hair was a winded mess. "Oh my god, I love that ride," Eren said, laughing somewhat breathlessly. "One day when you're older, sweetheart, you gotta ride with me. It's a roller coaster in the dark! You don't know when it's gonna turn or drop!"

Carlton's eyes widened. "Sounds scary."

"Yeah, but your silly daddy thinks scary things are fun," Levi said. "Quite appropriate actually, since we set to go to the Monsters, Inc. show next. Ready?" He led his family to the theatre entrance, and, after waiting for a few minutes, led them inside to their seats.

When the characters appeared on screen, Carlton's eyes widened, and a huge smile spread across his face. "Mike is talking to the audience!" he whispered to Levi. "He's actually talking to us!" Levi was more amused by Carlton bouncing in his seat.

That was when Levi appeared on one of the television screens next to the main screen. Carlton squealed louder and Eren doubled over laughing as a cast member rushed to the man's side and held a mic up to his mouth. The monster on the main screen asked for Levi's name and where he was from. "I'm Levi and I'm originally from France, but now I live in New York City."

"Levi from France!" the monster said, prompting Carlton to clap his hands happily. "Tell me, Levi, are you really from France, or did you just come from EPCOT?"

"Papa used to live on a farm near Paris!" Carlton shouted. "He made goat cheese!"

That made the entire room burst into laughter and applause, and Eren laughed so hard he actually fell out of his seat. Levi smiled embarrassedly, willing the color in his cheeks to go away. Of all the times for Carlton to not be a shy kid. Shaking his head he said, "Yes, I'm from a village outside Paris."

"Oh man, I don't need to say anything else," the monster said. "Your kid just put me out of a job."

The whole audience laughed and applauded again. Eren was having a hard time breathing. He was still laughing when the trio left the theatre.

"Well, now that the entire park knows that I grew up milking goats," Levi said, smiling as he pink on his cheeks faded away, "should we move on to Fantasyland? It just had that major expansion."

Eren finally calmed down, took a sip of water from the bottle in Levi's backpack, and said, "Yeah, let's go see it. Oh my god, that was hilarious. That was the funniest thing I've seen in a really long time." He squeezed Carlton's hand and continued, "The monster said that you took his job, sweetheart! You were even funnier than the comedian!"

Carlton smiled. "I wasn't trying to be funny. I just think it's really cool that Papa used to make cheese."

"It is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Alright, that's enough," Levi said, mood still light. "Should we get on line for the teacup ride?" He walked ahead of his husband and son, so they missed the sad look of nostalgia in his eyes.

It disappeared once they entered their cup on the Mad Tea Party. Eren's affinity for spinning was still strong. It took a few minutes for the three of them to get their equilibrium straightened out after they exited the ride.

The line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant was already a little long, but the fact that there were now two rides made the line go a bit faster. Besides, it was a childhood classic, so they had to ride it. Eren remembered sitting in his elephant cart with his mother while his father took pictures from the ground. He had waved to Grisha every time they had passed him, and he could still remember his mother's sweet laugh whenever Eren had made the cart rise or fall.

"Hey, Eren."

"Hmm?"

"I have an idea. Why don't you ride with Carlton while I take pictures?" Levi held up his camera. "Your parents have that photo of you with your mother on this ride in their living room. Besides, I've been riding small rides with Carlton while you ride the big ones. You two should have a ride to yourselves." He looked down at their son and said, "What do you think, sweetheart?"

Carlton frowned. "You don't want to ride it, Papa?"

"I want a photo of you and Daddy together, because Daddy rode this ride with Grandma when he was little."

After a moment of contemplation, Carlton nodded with a smile. "Okay, we'll wave to you!"

Levi nodded back and ducked out of the line. When he spotted Eren and Carlton board their elephant cart, he held up his camera and started taking pictures. As promised, they waved to him every time, and Levi caught their smiles and laughter with every click.

When the duo left the ride, they met up with Levi and headed to the next section of the Fantasyland expansion. They were about to head to the new _Little Mermaid _ride when Eren pointed to a nearby line. "Look, sweetheart, the line to meet Ariel is still pretty short! Do you want to meet her? You get to go into her grotto and meet her as a mermaid!"

Carlton's eyes widened. "Yeah! I wanna see her tail!"

Levi booted up his camera again, and, after a short wait, it was Carlton's turn. "Hi there, my little fishy friend!" Ariel said as the little boy walked over to her side. "What's your name?"

"Carlton."

"It's nice to meet you, Carlton! Where did you swim from?"

The boy giggled. "New York City."

"Wow, that's a really long swim," Ariel said. "Do you want to take a photo together?"

Carlton nodded and the two posed as Levi started snapping shots. When Carlton's turn was over, the family headed over the _Little Mermaid _ride. Carlton was just as happy to see all the different scenes from the movie as he was to meet the real Ariel.

However, he wasn't that interested in stopping to meet Gaston in the next area. "He's mean and your muscles are better than his, Papa."

So they moved on to Mickey's PhilharMagic. Carlton giggled the whole time, clapping his hands every time the scene changed and occasionally reaching out in an attempt to touch the 3-D effects. When the show was over and the trio left, Carlton took Eren's hand and said, "Donald was really funny! I like him almost as much as Mickey."

Eren frowned bitterly. "Except the stupid duck never heals you when you need it most."

"Huh?"

"Ignore Daddy," Levi said. "This is why he's not allowed to play video games without supervision."

"What's Goofy gonna do when he runs out of potions, huh?!"

"Aaaaand, we're moving on to Small World," Levi took Carlton's other hand and leading his family to the ride.

By the time the Jaegers were done riding It's A Small World and Peter Pan's Flight, it was lunchtime, so they stopped by the Columbia Harbor House. As they ate, Levi took the park map out and went over the remaining areas. "There's the Hall of Presidents and the Haunted Mansion," he said, popping a piece of broccoli in his mouth. "Thoughts?"

"The Hall of Presidents would be too boring for Carlton, right?" Eren asked.

Levi raised a brow. "The only think I heard out of that was, 'It would be too boring for me'."

"I see the President on TV all the time," Carlton said. "He never has anything happy to say. Nobody on the news does."

"You're right, so we're gonna skip that," Levi said. "Haunted Mansion? Do you think that would be too scary for you, Carlton?"

"…There's no real ghosts, right?"

"No, it's all lights and robots."

Carlton shrugged. "Then it'll probably be okay."

"Alright, we'll go check it out. If you're scared, we don't have to go on." Levi put the map away and then went back to his lunch. "Besides, I think this is where Princess Tiana greets guests. If you don't want to go on the ride, we can visit her instead."

Carlton actually was a bit frightened when he and his parents approached the Haunted Mansion. He didn't like the graves outside and was a little too young to find any humor in what was written on them. Still, when he entered the attraction, he got an idea.

"Hey, Papa," he said as the family was ushered into a room with paintings, "is this where Jack Skellington stays when he's in Disney World?"

"I'm sure it is," Levi replied quickly, realizing the opportunity to quell his son's fears. "You like Jack, right?"

Carlton nodded. "He's a little scary-looking, but he's really nice and really happy. If he stays here, then it must be okay. Jack only likes to scare people, not hurt them."

Carlton's epiphany came at the perfect time, because the door closed behind the group, and the pre-show began. Eren picked Carlton up so he could see the paintings better. Once the introduction was over, the group moved into the next room, and all three Jaegers sat in their cart with Carlton in the middle. Throughout the ride, he gripped his parent's shirt sleeves a few times, but he exited the ride with a smile. He was especially excited when he saw a cart full of _Nightmare Before Christmas _merchandise nearby, and Levi bought him a Zero plush toy without a second thought.

It was just their luck that Tiana came out to greet visitors not a moment later. Levi put the toy away and turned his camera on. He and Eren smiled when Carlton excitedly told the princess that they were staying at the hotel inspired by her home city.

"Alright, now we have to hit Splash Mountain in Frontierland," Levi said as he pointed to a nearby sign. "Eren, you wanted to use your Fastpass for that, right? Carlton and I will—"

"Um," Carlton interrupted, tugging on his papa's pant leg, "can I ride Splash Mountain with Daddy?"

Levi's eyes widened. "You want to?"

Carlton nodded. "Daddy's been riding all the big rides himself, and he said that he hopes he can ride one with me. If I'm tall enough, can I ride Splash Mountain? Please?"

"Let's go show him how the ride looks first," Eren said as he took his son's hand. Levi nodded and they headed towards the ride. When they got there, one of the boats was rushing down the mountain, and a huge wave of water splashed into the riders' faces. Carlton giggled at the blast, and Eren knelt down to his level. "I remember riding this with Grandma and Grandpa when I came here," he said. "The ride goes really slow in the dark up the mountain, then it rushes down and splashes into the water. It's kind of a roller coaster because of the drop, but it's not too scary because it's over in a few seconds. What do you think?"

"I wanna ride it," Carlton confirmed. "Please? You and me, Daddy, please?"

Eren grinned. "You bet! We'll meet up with Papa at the end of the ride."

"Yeah, I already got soaked once," Levi said. "I'll take a photo when you guys come down the mountain."

With that, Eren and Carlton headed over to the ride entrance. Thankfully, Carlton was tall enough to ride, so he scooted into a boat with his daddy, and the ride began. It wasn't too scary at first, even though it was mostly in the dark, but then Carlton realized that Brer Rabbit was in trouble and needed to jump to escape Brer Fox and Brer Bear. He saw the light leading to the outside, gripped the safety bar with one hand and Eren's shirt with the other, and braced himself. When the boat dropped, Eren and Carlton screamed at the top of their lungs, and a huge wave splashed right onto them when they hit the bottom. Luckily, they weren't sitting up front, so they didn't get soaked, but their shirts were definitely wet. They looked at each other and laughed, Carlton's eyes sparkling with adrenaline and relief. He and Eren waved to Levi, who waved back and snapped a photo.

"That was so much fun!" Carlton squealed when he and Eren exited the ride. He hugged Eren around his leg and said, "Thank you for letting me go on it, Daddy! Thank you, thank you!" Eren, smiling wide, picked him up and gave him a big hug as he headed towards where Levi was.

"You're welcome, sweetheart, thanks for riding it with me!"

When Levi saw them, he grabbed the mini towel from his backpack and dried them off to the best of his ability before they headed to Adventureland. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad could wait.

No, what the Jaegers really wanted to do was go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. "It's changed so much since I was here!" Eren said as the family moved into the Fastpass line. "It was already a fun ride, but now we can see Captain Jack Sparrow! We have to look for him throughout the ride, okay?" He and Carlton were giddy as they took their seats. Levi would never admit it, but he loved the _Pirates of the Caribbean _movies, and he might have been a little excited when he saw the Captain Jack Sparrow animatronic during the ride.

He was less thrilled when Eren dragged him into the Enchanted Tiki Room. The singing birds were more annoying than the singing Small World children in his mind.

About half way through the Jungle Cruise, Carlton started to yawn and rest his head against Eren's shoulder. Learning from the previous day's meltdown, Levi declared that it was nap time once they got off the boat. Carlton was okay with this plan until the bus back to the hotel came, and he said, "What about the fireworks?"

"We'll come back to see them tonight," Levi said as he and his family boarded the bus. "We'll go back to the hotel, take a nap, and then come back here. We have dinner reservations, and we can play around the park some more, and then we'll watch the fireworks in front of Cinderella Castle. You won't miss a thing, we promise."

Carlton couldn't argue with this plan. As soon as he arrived back in the hotel room, he fell asleep on one of the beds, clutching his good monster toy, his Sorcerer Mickey plush, and his new Zero plush. Eren and Levi watched him for a few minutes before cuddling on their own bed and taking a short nap themselves.

By the time Carlton woke up, the sun was low in the sky, so the family headed back to the Magic Kingdom. Eren ran ahead to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which was a little too fast for Carlton's liking), while Levi and Carlton browsed the stores on Main Street USA. Levi ended up buying two boxes of candies shaped like classic Disney characters. "One for Grandma and Grandpa, and one for your friends at school," he explained.

"…What about Grandpa Kenny?"

Levi managed a small smile and said, "It's kinda hard to send food to another country. Don't worry, I'll send him something, too."

This satisfied Carlton enough, and they moved on to another merchandise shop. Something in particular in this shop caught Carlton's eye. "Papa," he said, pointing to a shelf, "look they have plush toys of Merida. She's from Scotland, just like Aunt Sasha, right?"

"Oh, you didn't get to meet Merida today," Levi realized, frowning. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart, do you want to see if she's still around?"

"It's okay," Carlton said, smiling. "I want to come back here with Aoife one day when she's older! Since Aunt Sasha is from Scotland, that means that Aoife is part Scottish, right? Can we get this plush for her? It's safe for babies, right?"

Levi nodded. "Absolutely." He smiled at how much Carlton loved Aoife. She was only a year old, but Carlton already showered her with affection every time he saw her. He had been so excited when she had been born, going on about how cute and tiny she was. Levi would never think that Sasha and Connie, Eren's most ridiculous friends, would ever get married and be parents, yet they were blissfully happy in both their marriage and their roles as parents. No doubt, they'd eventually have another baby. Levi took the Merida plush in his hands, and then Carlton pointed to another plush of Belle.

"And…that one?" he asked innocently. "For Marvelle?"

Marvelle was the daughter of the couple who lived in the next apartment over from the Jaegers. She was about the same age as Aoife, and Carlton adored her. He loved spending time with her and often talked to her about how he couldn't wait for her to grow up so they could play together. The neighboring couple loved having Carlton over, too, saying that he was more like her big brother than a playmate.

Besides, Levi had suggested the name "Marvelle" at the baby shower.

"Marvelle does kind of look like Belle, doesn't she?" he asked as he picked up the second toy.

Carlton nodded. "They both have dark hair and pretty, brown eyes."

Levi paid for the two toys just as Eren retuned from his ride. From there, the family went to dinner, and another hour later, the fireworks show started. Carlton stared in awe at the castle all lit up and glowing against a backdrop of dark sky and bright fireworks. It was so much better than any Fourth of July celebration he had ever been to. It overjoyed him so much that he didn't immediately fall asleep in Eren's arms on the bus back home, instead managing to stay awake until Levi dressed him in his pajamas and properly tucked him into bed.


	6. World Story

"Daddy, your phone is ringing."

Eren spit the toothpaste from his mouth into one of the bathroom sinks and said, "Who is it?"

Carlton picked up the iPhone on the bed and looked at the contact name, and his face lit up as he unlocked the phone. "It's Grandma!"

Eren's face paled. "No, sweetheart, don't—!"

"_Alo, Babaanne!_"

Eren twitched as Levi put down his razor and said, "You haven't called your mother the entire time we've been here, have you?" When Eren, eyes wide and jaw tense, didn't respond, Levi continued, "She's gonna chew you out," and he finished shaving the last of his face.

"Daddy, Grandma wants to talk to you," Carlton said innocently, walking into the bathroom and handing his father the phone. Eren wiped his mouth, took the phone, and sat on his and Levi's bed. In mere seconds, he was babbling on in Turkish.

Carlton looked up at Levi and asked, "Is Daddy in trouble?"

"Sort of," Levi replied as he cleaned his razor. "Grandma likes it when Daddy calls her, and he hasn't called her the entire time we've been in Disney World, so now she's mad because she feels like she's missing out on your first real vacation. That's what I guess anyway. Daddy's apologizing to her and recalling everything we've done so far."

Carlton's eyes widened. "You can understand him?"

"Enough of it. I swear, I'm gonna learn Turkish just by listening to him and his mother talk."

By the time Eren ended the call, Levi and Carlton were both dressed and ready to head to EPCOT. Eren gave them an apologetic look and said, "Grandma says to have fun today."

Levi rolled his eyes with a little smirk.

* * *

><p>Somehow, the Jaegers still managed to make it to EPCOT before the park opened. When they reached the entrance to Future World, Eren picked Carlton up so he could get a better look at the Spaceship Earth attraction.<p>

"It looks like a giant golf ball!" Carlton giggled. "If my monster plush was the size of a real monster, it could probably play with it."

"There's actually a ride in there," Levi said, looking over the map. "It's about the world's history of education and communication. Definitely riding that one. Hmm, looks like we can't ride Mission: SPACE just yet. You're not tall enough, sweetheart." When he saw Carlton frown, he continued, "But you can ride Soarin' and Test Track, and those are supposed to be really big, fun rides. And there are rides in the World Showcase, too, but they don't open until 11. We have reservations for lunch at the restaurant in Morocco, so we just have to make sure we're there at 12:30. Our dinner reservations in Norway are later than usual so that we can see the fireworks right afterwards. We can take a break later in the afternoon to visit the Boardwalk if we want, because there's another entrance/exit next to the UK pavilion that leads directly to it."

"Looks like we have a full day ahead," Eren said as he set Carlton down. "It's our last full day here, so let's make it great!"

A few minutes later, the park opened, and the Jaeger family rushed to Future World West since their Fastpass for Soarin' was already available. They were part of the first group on the ride, and Carlton kicked his legs back and forth in anticipation as Levi buckled him into his seat. Once the introduction was over, the seats rose, and Carlton squealed as the screen in front of the group lit up with scenes of California.

On each of the little boy's sides, his parents watched with fascination as the scenes and effects played. Wind blew through their hair, and neither felt like he could blink. Every time the terrain of the scene changed, their fingers twitched, as if pressing buttons, and both men found themselves jerking from side to side as obstacles like trees or mountains came into view. By the time the ride was over and the seats lowered to the floor, they were both out of breath, and it took a moment for them to realize that it was safe to unbuckle themselves.

"That was so much fun!" Carlton said happily as he took Eren's hand and followed his parents out of the ride.

Eren swallowed hard and managed and smile. "It was, huh?" He turned to look at the ride once they left the ride area, and his eyes widened at the length of the line that had formed. "Holy crap, I'm glad we did that first."

Levi nodded, blinking a few times and shaking his head to come down from his high. "I read that this ride is especially popular, so I made sure to schedule the Fastpass early. It was definitely…something." He glanced at Eren with a slightly worried expression, but both of them pushed their worries away when Carlton pointed to the Living with the Land attraction and tugged on his daddy's arm to go ride it. By the time the family had finished that ride and the Circle of Life show, Eren and Levi were back to normal.

Mostly.

"Whoa, Nemo!" Carlton cried excitedly when he saw a building marked "The Seas with Nemo and Friends."

"There's supposedly a really nice aquarium inside," Levi said, looking over the map again. "There's a ride, too, along with another interactive show, kinda like the Monsters, Inc. show we saw yesterday."

Eren smirked. "Great, even more people to inform of your goat cheese-filled childhood."

"I think we should skip that."

Eren burst out laughing.

Luckily for Levi, Turtle Talk with Crush was a bit too crowded, and Carlton didn't like the idea of squeezing into the theatre with so many other children he didn't know. The family chose to walk through the aquarium after finishing the ride instead, and Carlton was enamored with all of the animals in the tanks. He let out an "eep!" when he spotted sharks, but he quickly remembered that he was in no danger. In fact, there was something peaceful about watching the sharks swim along with the rest of the fish, and Carlton actually felt more relaxed the more he watched.

"Sharks aren't mindless killers," Levi said. "They attack when they're hungry. They usually attack people because they mistake them for their real prey."

Carlton nodded. "They're a little scary-looking though."

"That's true but they're just trying to survive like everybody else." _I can only imagine how terrifying a creature that attacked and ate people even though it wasn't hungry would be. …Wait, what? _

Levi looked up at the tank and watched another shark swim by.

After going through all the exhibits in the Seas building (Carlton was excited to see an educational fact sheet about sharks near the tanks), Levi led his family to Future World East. They had just a little bit of time until the World Showcase open, but, luckily, their Fastpass for Test Track was set to go.

When they entered the Test Track building, Eren started drooling. All sorts of car models with different kinds of builds from different countries lined the queue area, and Eren had no problem pointing out the German models. "Everyone knows that Germans make the best cars in the world," he said haughtily, smirking.

Levi raised a brow as they were ushered into another room. "Mikasa would argue you on that."

"Then she can argue with my dad, because he believes that even more than I do," Eren said as he started designing his car. Levi picked Carlton up so he could see the process, but neither one had much say in it. "Hmm, fast, definitely fast," Eren murmured, flipping through the options. "I don't care about eco-friendliness, gimme the speed!"

When they finally boarded the ride and jetted off for the finishing speed run, Carlton shouted, "TOO FAST, DADDY, WAY TOO FAST!"

Luckily, everybody came off the ride smiling, but Carlton was all too eager to go on the slow-moving Spaceship Earth ride.

By the time they were done with everything they wanted to see in Future World, the World Showcase had opened, and Carlton was especially excited to see all the different pavilions. Before the trip, he had been thrilled to learn that France, Germany, and Japan were represented in the parks, but the lack of a Turkey pavilion had bothered him. Still, he was determined to have a good time and visit every single country represented. "It's kinda like going around the world without leaving Disney World!"

"New York City is a pretty good representation of the world, too," Levi explained as he led Carlton and Eren to the Mexico pavilion. "You knew already knew that though."

"Yeah, because everyone in our family is from somewhere else!"

"Well, it's not just our family. Lots of people in New York were born in other countries, and even people who were born in New York or somewhere else in the US still have their own cultural practices. We should start teaching you more about that…"

"Then let's start here," Eren said, pointing the temple-like structure that made up the Mexico pavilion. He headed up the stairs with Levi and Carlton, and the three of them gasped at the beautiful interior. The ceiling above was painted like the night sky complete with twinkling stars, and the dim lights added to the romantic feel. Levi honestly felt like curling up around Eren's arm as they headed towards the ride. Even while Carlton giggled at Donald and his friends traveling through Mexico, Levi felt a tender sweetness radiate from Eren. It reminded him of their honeymoon.

When the ride was over, they ventured into the multiple shops, taking in the traditional wares and the more kitschy visitor stuff. Carlton loved the glassware and crystals, especially the ones shaped into Disney characters. Eren and Levi were more interested in the shot glasses.

Just as they were about to leave and move on to the next pavilion, Carlton stopped to look at a table full of brightly colored animals carved from wood. He scanned over them and then shyly looked at the woman currently working on a frog figure. "Um, excuse me," he said just loud enough to get the woman's attention. When she looked up at him, he continued, "what are these called?"

The woman smiled. "These are woodcarvings called _Alebrije_ from an area of Mexico called Oaxaca. Sometimes the animals we carve are real animals with vibrant colors, and sometimes we mix animals together to create magical animals. They're a representation of how the ancient cultures interacted with the modern world."

Carlton smiled wide at the thought of magical animals, like what if his papa's goats had dragon wings? How cool would that be? "That's really cool," he said. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," the woman said as she went back to work. "Have a good day."

Levi took Carlton's hand, and they and Eren headed to the next pavilion. "That was pretty interesting, huh?" Levi asked as they left the Mexico area in favor of Norway.

"Yeah!" Carlton agreed. "I wanna learn more about those animals!"

"Alright, then we'll see if maybe there's a place we can visit to learn more once we're back at home."

"For now, let's just worry about that line," Eren said, face expressing a mix of awe and fear. "What in the…?"

"Ah, they must all be on line to meet Anna and Elsa," Levi sighed. "Typical. That 'Let It Go' song or whatever has been on infinite repeat all over the place."

Despite the huge line for the character meet and greet, the line for the Maelstrom ride wasn't long at all, so the Jaegers had no problem boarding their boat and heading on their way to discover traditional Norwegian culture next. Carlton was a little scared at first, especially with the wind sound effects, and his fear intensified when he saw the trolls, but he liked the little drop at the end of the ride, and he thought the Norwegian village they entered afterwards was cute. The bonus film wasn't playing that day, so they headed into the connecting shop. There, something large caught Carlton's eye, and he gripped his papa's hand as the thing, a large troll statue, came into view.

Levi looked down at his son, up at the statue, and then back down at Carlton. "Are you afraid of the troll?"

Carlton shook his head. "It's just big. It kinda looks like something out of Aunt Ymir's books."

"Ah well, Aunt Ymir is Swedish, not Norwegian, but they are similar. They're both part of Scandinavia. Trolls are a big part of Norse folklore, so you should ask Aunt Ymir about them sometime." Levi pulled his camera from his bag and snapped a photo of Eren, who had put on one of the viking hats and was posing in front of the statue.

Since the Jaegers were going to return to the Norway pavilion for dinner later that night, they saved the rest of the attractions for later and continued onwards. Next up was China, and Carlton's eyes widened at the beautiful architecture. "Colorful," Levi heard him say as they walked into the main part of the pavilion, and the boy pointed at the adjacent garden. Because the family was in EPCOT during the spring, they could experience the Flower and Garden Festival, so the garden was even prettier than it usually was, complete with bamboo and water lilies. Surrounding the garden was a series of little sculptures, and, upon further investigation, the Jaegers realized that they were the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

"Hmm, let's see what we all are," Levi said, flipping through his smartphone. "Carlton was born on January 30, 2008, so he's a…Boar! That's another word for a pig."

"So he's our little piglet!" Eren laughed, picking their son up and making pig-like grunting noises as he peppered Carlton's face with kisses. Carlton squealed, not sounding unlike a pig himself, and squirmed in his daddy's arms as he begged for mercy.

Levi smirked. "Keep it up, Eren, you're a Boar, too. According to this, you two are generous, optimistic, and always looking to help others. You see the best in people and always want the best for yourselves and others."

"What about you, Papa?" Carlton asked as Eren's cuddly attack slowed to one last kiss on the boy's temple. Carlton grinned at his daddy and said, "No yummy little human baby for you this time, Tickle Titan!"

"Oh, trust me, the Tickle Titan is just biding his time," Eren said with a smirk. "He's gonna get his yummy little human baby one of these days, you can count on it."

Levi shook his head. The "Tickle Titan" was a monster inspired by Carlton's favorite plush toy that attacked with hugs and kisses and preyed on adorable little boys named Carlton Jaeger. Levi thought it was a ridiculous game, as it was always noisy what with Eren chasing Carlton around their apartment, but the game made his husband and son happy, so he couldn't prohibit it too much. With a sigh, Levi looked back down at his smartphone and said, "I'm a Horse. I'm energetic, good with money, and love to travel. I…" Levi slowed as he read over the next line and eventually continued, "…have a love of independence and freedom."

Eren and Carlton smiled gently, understanding Levi's sudden deflated persona. "Maybe your dad was right then," Eren said, "that you have wings on your back."

Carlton scratched his head. "A horse with wings is a peg…? Pega…?"

"A pegasus," Levi finished, putting his smartphone away. A small smile formed on his face, and he continued, "It's possible. Here, lemme take a photo of you two with the boar sculpture." He held his camera up and snapped a photo of his husband and son, and Eren insisted he return the favor. Somewhat reluctantly, Levi stood in front of the horse sculpture and let Eren snap a shot.

As soon as Eren put the camera down, a cast member nearby announced that Mulan was going to be coming out for photos soon. Carlton's face lit up, and Eren and Levi immediately got the message. It was worth it, to see Carlton and Mulan pose in fighting stances for the photo.

By the time they were done in China, the Jaegers' lunch reservation time was approaching. They passed Germany, Italy, America, and Japan and soon found themselves in Morocco. When they passed the main entrance to the area, they discovered the back was not unlike a maze. There were small alleyways that led into shops and exhibits that all eventually brought visitors to the restaurant. Levi checked the family in, and a host brought them to their table.

Once they sat down, Carlton looked up in awe at his surroundings. The walls and ceilings were covered in small, multicolored geometric shapes that hooked together to create elaborate patterns. Down a small set of stairs was a dance floor, and a band was busy tuning instruments. He smiled at the thought of live music during the meal.

"What do you want?" Levi asked, looking over the menu. "Couscous?"

"Might as well," Eren replied. "I'm thinking with the lamb."

"Alright, then I'll get the half chicken. That okay with you, sweetheart?"

Carlton nodded. "I don't want anything from the kids' menu."

Luckily, this waiter was much more understanding than the one at the restaurant in Hollywood Studios, and he made the note to bring an extra child-sized plate when he brought the food out. Levi ordered Moroccan-style mint tea for the table, and, while it certainly wasn't his favorite black tea, it still tasted great with the real mint leaves infusing their flavor into the green tea.

Mere minutes after the waiter brought out their meals, the band began to play, and the family looked down at the dance floor to see a woman dressed in a sparkling, flowing outfit moving her hips to the music. Carlton's eyes widened and he looked at Eren with a bright smile. "She's a belly dancer, Daddy, just like you!"

"A Moroccan style one, but yes," Eren explained.

Eventually, the dancer starting moving around to the tables, inviting children to dance with her. Carlton watched as she approached him, and he looked away nervously when she asked, "Would you like to join me?"

That was when Eren's eyes narrowed and a smirk spread across his face. He gave Levi a mischievous look, and Levi's expression dropped. "Eren, no," he said lowly.

"Eren, yes," his husband replied playfully. "Morocco versus Turkey, I wonder who will win…?" He stood from his seat and asked the dancer, "Is it alright if I tag along? My son loves to dance, but he's shy around strangers."

"Yes, please join in!" the woman replied, motioning for them to follow her.

Levi shook his head, knowing he had been defeating. "Really now…?" He watched as his husband and son stepped onto the dance floor, and, at first, Eren just danced along with Carlton, but then he unbuttoned the first and last two buttons of his shirt to allow for more movement, and that was when the real show began. Eren started by moving his hips, slowly at first, but then he picked up speed and the rest of his body started moving with him. The female dancer, seeing the challenge, responded with her own moves, and, before anyone knew it, they had a dance-off, and the entire restaurant, employees and visitors alike, were gaping.

Up at the table, Levi sighed and snapped a few photos. "You'd better win, Eren, or your mother is gonna rip you apart." He rested his face in his hands and decided that there wasn't much more he could do than enjoy the show.

"Oh my god, he's so hot."

Levi glanced over at two women who were watching the performance on the opposite side of his table.

"Mm-hmm, Shakira was talking about him when she said that hips don't lie."

Levi's smirk returned to his face, and he held up his left hand. "Yeah, she was," he said loud enough for the two women to hear. They looked at him, confused as to what he meant, and their smiles disappeared when they saw the ring on Levi's finger. The man's smirk widened, and he finished, "and all six feet, five inches of that Turkish-German sex god are mine."

When the music ended and Eren returned to the table, Levi sealed that declaration with a long kiss. Carlton giggled and comically covered his eyes, oblivious to the disappointed crowd around them, slapped in the face with reality that, no, that gorgeous man with the magical hips was most definitely not single.

"Your mother is gonna flip," Levi said as they walked out of the restaurant afterwards, the short man looking through the pictures he shot on his camera.

Eren grinned. "That was to apologize for not calling her throughout the trip. Turkey totally won today."

"Uh-huh, okay."

"Jasmine!" Carlton cried excitedly, pointing to the interior of a shop. Eren and Levi followed his gaze, and, sure enough, Agrabah's princess was greeting guests. Upon further inspection, they realized that Aladdin was there, too, so of course they had to stop by and say hello.

"Wow, you're meeting all the princesses this trip, sweetheart," Eren said as the family headed back to the Germany pavilion. "You're gonna meet even more at dinner tonight, too. Lucky you."

"I hope Princess Aurora is there," Carlton said. "I really like her, and I like her song the best."

"We'll take you to see _Maleficent _when it comes out in theaters next month," Levi said. "Angelina Jolie is a pretty great actress, so I'm interested to see how she works with the story. And Lana Del Rey's cover of 'Once Upon a Dream' is pretty good."

"I think she has a really pretty voice," Carlton agreed.

Back in the Germany pavilion, Eren needed to show off further by refusing to speak any language other than German. Somehow, he walked out of the caramel store with a bag of the freshly-made treat for half the price. Levi and Carlton did not complain.

Next door in Italy, the Jaegers were just in time to catch the last bit of Sergio the Mime's performance. He blew his whistle in time with his juggling, and he even invited some children to play ball with him. Carlton was more content to watch and clap along, giggling whenever Sergio struck a pose or made a silly face. When the performance was over and the family checked out the shops in the back, Carlton's expression went from happy to fascinated, especially when he saw the Venetian masks.

"We wear them during the Carnival of Venice," the woman working on a mask behind the counter said, catching the family's attention. "That's a festival we have before Lent, kind of like our version of _Mardi Gras_. It actually started out as a victory celebration in the 12th century, but it was outlawed by the King of Austria in 1797. Italy was under Austria's rule at the time, so we had no choice but to stop celebrating the festival. Luckily, our government brought it back in 1979."

"Do you still wear masks like these?" Carlton asked.

The woman nodded. "There are even competitions for the most beautiful mask. C'mere." She stood up and motioned for Carlton to approach her. He cautiously walked up to the counter, and she put a finished mask over his eyes. After a moment of silence, Carlton giggled, and Levi snapped a photo.

"Thank you very much," Levi said. "I'd like to go to Venice someday."

"You should go, it's a beautiful city," the woman said, putting the mask back down and going back to work. "Thank you for stopping by, have a nice day."

The Jaegers said their goodbyes to Italy and then moved onto Japan. "This is where Aunt Mikasa's mommy is from!" Carlton realized, pointing at the five-leveled pagoda. Between that and the bonsai trees out for the Flower and Garden Festival, there was plenty to look at outside. Eren snapped a few photos on his iPhone and sent them to Mikasa. She replied just as the family was walking into the Bijutsu-kan Gallery, saying, "Yup, that's what the gardens look like over there. Hope you're all having fun." She replied with a smiling emoticon when Eren sent her photos of the anime posters hanging up in gallery.

Back in Morocco, the Jaegers spent more time taking in the museum-like attractions. His previous victory nearly forgotten, Eren read over the descriptions of stained glass, jewelry, and traditional clothing in fascination. Levi, meanwhile, read over facts about the Moroccan pavilion in general on his smartphone.

"This is the only of the pavilions to be sponsored by the real country, not a corporation," he said. "The King of Morocco sent his personal craftsmen to lay all the tile work, carvings, and paintings throughout the pavilion. During the fireworks event each night, the light effects aren't set on top of the buildings in this pavilion because the buildings have religious significance." His eyes widened as he read over the facts, blown away by how intricate and elaborate the pavilion was. "And…wow, I didn't know this. Morocco was the first country to recognize the US as an independent nation in 1777."

"No way!" Eren gasped. "You're kidding!"

Levi shook his head. "In fact, the Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1786, and it's the US's oldest non-broken friendship treaty. The two countries came together because Morocco wanted to establish agreements and trade routes with foreign commercial powers."

All three Jaegers were very quiet for a long minute until Eren said, "Looks like we all need to learn more about Morocco."

To lighten the mood, Levi bought Carlton a fez hat in the nearby shop. Carlton put it on for a photo and said, "I'm the Eleventh Doctor!"

Once the family passed into the France pavilion, Levi smiled slightly. He took in the architecture and design of the buildings and the colorful varieties of the nearby gardens, thinking back to his childhood. It didn't look a lot like the Paris he remembered, but even Paris was something of a world away back then. He sighed heavily, catching Eren's attention.

"You okay?"

Levi nodded. "I was just remembering all the times I went to Paris as a kid. I used to look for tourists to talk to. That was how I learned English."

"So this doesn't look like where you lived, Papa?"

"No, unfortunately. The village where I grew up was in the countryside, and Grandpa Kenny's farm was particularly plain. My village and Paris was and still are completely different. In fact…" Levi opened up the map and continued, "Ah yeah, here it is. There's a film we can watch about France. Want to see it?"

"Yes, please!" Carlton and Eren said in unison.

Levi's smile widened a bit as he led his family into the theatre. The film was short but packed in a lot of scenery. When it got to the farm scene, Levi let out another sigh. He would never admit it, but he kind of missed the goats. He even sort of missed milking them every day.

_Dad, are you as okay as you say you are in your letters?_

After the film, Carlton spotted a line outside near the gardens. A nearby cast member waved to them and said, "Belle and Esmeralda are out if you'd like to meet them!"

Carlton let out an excited squeal. "Esmeralda, Daddy! I like her because she looks like you!"

"Yeah! Green eyes and everything!" Eren agreed. "Holy crap, I want a picture with her, too. C'mon, let's get on line!"

Carlton met Belle first, and the princess was very excited to hear that Levi was also from France. "You're from a little town, too? A quiet village?" she asked sweetly. Levi was thankful that Carlton didn't mention the goats this time.

When it was the Jaegers' turn to meet Esmeralda, Levi wasn't sure who was more excited. Eren wore a bright grin the whole time, and even Esmeralda herself said that their eyes were similar. This only made Carlton giggle, and he reached up for a hug. Levi couldn't help the rapid fire of his camera when she agreed, as he had never seen his son this excited and happy to meet someone before. Maybe his shyness was starting to melt away a bit.

"Hey, do you guys wanna stop for a snack?" Levi asked once their turn was over. He pointed to the nearby counter service restaurant and continued, "Carlton, you can even have an extra dessert today if you want."

"Really, Papa?!" the little boy cried, rushing up and hugging Levi around his leg. "Yes, please! Thank you, Papa!"

"Thanks, Levi," Eren said, "that's really—"

"I didn't say you could have an extra dessert."

Eren's face dropped. Levi smirked.

"I'm kidding. Let's go."

Levi followed his husband and son into the shop, and the two looked over the sweet options. He heard Eren go on about how good the chocolate tarts and croissants looked, while Carlton was more interested in the macarons and eclairs. Levi pulled his wallet from his pocket and flipped through his bills.

"Here's your change. _Merci beaucoup! _Have a magical day!"

Levi's head shot up, and his eyes widened.

"_Ah, je veux prendre une pause…_"

Eren turned and asked Levi his opinion on the sweets, but the man was staring at the other end of the restaurant in what looked like a frightened daze. Levi held out his wallet, which Eren took, and started walking, keeping his eyes on a woman leaving the restaurant through the employee exit.

"Isabel…"

Levi stumbled forward, his voice suddenly loud with desperation.

"Isabel…ISABEL!"

The woman turned and her eyes widened. They stared at each other, Levi panting heavily while Isabel could barely breathe. She stood frozen solid, as if afraid this was an illusion that would break if she moved. Tears formed in her eyes, and her professional facade crumbled as she finally reached out.

"_Levi_," she gasped, "_Levi, tu es ici? Tu es…?_" She trailed off once she touched his shirt, and she broke down, jumping into his arms and sobbing. Luckily, the restaurant was somewhat empty since it wasn't a major meal time, but another employee still yelled at Isabel to pull herself together. She nodded and excused herself, adding that she would be taking her break early.

"_Levi, pourquoi es tu…?_"

Levi motioned for Eren and Carlton to join him and said, "_Je suis avec ma famille. Mon mari Eren et mon fils Carlton._"

Isabel gasped as more tears fell down her cheeks. "Oh my god," she said, going back to English, "oh my god, Levi, they're…they're so beautiful…"

Levi smiled appreciatively and said, "Eren, Carlton, this is Isabel Magnolia. We grew up together."

Once Isabel was calm, the group sat down on a nearby bench, Eren and Carlton with desserts in hand. Isabel was still in shock, shaking her head and mumbling through her words. "I can't believe it," she said. "I just can't believe it. It's really you, Levi, it's really you." She looked up at him with teary eyes. "You left our village for New York City, and I run into you in Walt Disney World of all places eighteen years later? How…?"

"When did you start working here?" Levi asked.

"In college," Isabel replied, voice breathy. "I came here as part of the international college program, and I decided to come back after I graduated."

"Ah, that makes sense. You always did like people."

Isabel went to smile, but tears fell before she could. "You just left," she mumbled, voice cracking. "You just got up and left. You left the farm and the village and Kenny and Farlan and me and all of us and never looked back. I didn't think I'd ever see you again, and now it's like you're back from the dead or something." She wiped her eyes and sat up so she could look Levi in the eye and continued, "Do you have any idea how much everybody misses you? How much everybody wishes you hadn't left? Everybody in the village called your dad insane for letting you go! And…!" She broke down again, falling into Levi's arms, and the two embraced. "And none of that matters," she finished. "Kenny tells Farlan and me all about your letters, how you have a great job and a big apartment in Manhattan and how you have a beautiful and perfect family and…" She sat back up with a smile. "…and I'm so happy for you."

"Isabel," Levi breathed, embracing his friend again, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have left so suddenly. I should have given it another week at least."

"No, you left when you needed to. After Kenny came back from the airport, he told us that you had wings on your back and that you had flown to where you needed to be. And it looks like he was right, since you met Eren."

Eren smiled at that, setting his empty plate down. "I'm glad Levi left when he did, too."

Isabel gave Eren a smile and then looked back at her friend with a frown. "But, Levi, you haven't been home in eighteen years. I mean, your dad is seventy. He isn't gonna be around forever. He's never even met Carlton, has he?"

Carlton looked up from his plate and wiped the raspberry sauce from his face. "No, I really wanna meet Grandpa Kenny."

Levi nodded, looking away guiltily. "I know. I know I should go back. I know that Kenny deserves to meet Eren and Carlton. I just…"

"I don't mean to guilt you into it," Isabel explained. "I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"Yeah," Levi said, nodding again, "no regrets." He sighed heavily and then pulled out his smartphone. "Hey, what's your phone number? And do you have Skype?"

"Oh yeah, I do!" Isabel said excitedly. She gave Levi her number and then stood. "I really wanna talk to you some more, but I gotta get back to work. Text me sometime!"

"Will do," Levi said, standing as well with Eren and Carlton. "If you can get multiple days off, you should come visit us in New York."

"I'd love that!" Isabel jumped up and threw her arms around Levi, the other hugging her back. "I still can't believe I ran into you here," she continued. "I'm gonna e-mail Farlan tonight and tell him all about it. _Je t'aime, Levi. _I love you, we all do." She squeezed him one more time and then waved goodbye as she headed back to the restaurant.

For a few seconds, Levi just stood there, his eyes fixed on the restaurant, until Eren put a hand on his shoulder. "Pretty amazing the way the world works, huh?" the younger asked.

Levi nodded. "Should we…move on to the next pavilion?"

The visits to the UK and Canada pavilions were something of a blur to Levi, even when he found the shop in the UK that sold some of the finest black teas around. He took photos of Carlton meeting Mary Poppins and Alice, and he enjoyed the short film about Canada, but his lackluster enthusiasm was obvious. He didn't even realize that he and his family had visited all the pavilions until Carlton said that he could see the Mexico pavilion again.

"Can we go see the Boardwalk?" the little boy asked.

Eren nodded. "I wanna see what the Boardwalk's hotel looks like. I hear it's really nice."

Levi followed them to the World Showcase exit, but, before they could leave, he heard a familiar voice.

"LEVI!"

Levi turned to see Isabel rushing towards him with a small, wrapped package in her hands. "Here," she said breathlessly. "Heh, sorry, I just thought you'd like this. You used to only be able to get this in Paris, but business has expanded, and now it's available in the France pavilion here. Enjoy!" She grinned brightly and rushed back in the park, shouting, "Don't worry, I paid for it!"

"What the…?" Levi looked down at the package and shrugged. "We'll open it when we get to the Boardwalk," he said, following Eren and Carlton out of EPCOT. They circled the lagoon and came upon a line of shops surrounding high-end hotels. Levi sat on a nearby bench, Eren and Carlton sitting on each of his sides. and peeled at the package's paper. As he did, his eyes widened, and he realized that a little circle of cheese was sitting in the palm of his hand.

Goat cheese. From Ackerman Farms.

Without a word, Levi broke off a piece from the wheel and slowly brought it to his lips. After a moment of hesitating, he licked at it, and his senses flooded with his old home. Waking up before the sun rose to feed the goats. His father cooking breakfast in the kitchen. The goats bleating for attention and he and his father milked them. Processing the milk into cheese. Sending the cheese on its way to Paris. Cleaning up the goats and the farm after a long day. Eating dinner complete with a cheese plate of whatever they could afford to keep for themselves from the batch. Levi didn't notice it, but, the moment the cheese had touched his tongue, he had begun to cry.

"…Papa?"

Levi's head dropped and only one word escaped his lips.

"_Père…_"

* * *

><p>Translations<p>

Turkish:

_Alo, Babaanne! = _Hello, Grandma!

French:

_Merci beaucoup! _= Thank you very much!

_Ah, je veux prendre une pause… _= Ah, I want to take a break…

_Levi, tu es ici? Tu es…? _= Levi, you're here? You are…?

_Levi, pourquoi es tu…? _= Levi, why are you…?

_Je suis avec ma famille. Mon mari Eren et mon fils Carlton. _= I'm with my family. My husband Eren and my son Carlton.

_Je t'aime, Levi. _= I love you, Levi.

_Père… _= Father…


End file.
